Double-Team
by David J. Warner
Summary: Act III of "The Bucktown Timeline": GenX teams with Gen-13 to fight Exodus.


DOUBLE-TEAM 

The Generation X/Gen-13 Crossover 

written by David J. Warner 

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This story (C) Copyright 1995 David J. Warner. All X-Men and Generation X characters used within this story are the intellectual property of the Marvel Comics Company. All Gen-13 characters used within this story are the intellectual property of Wildstorm Productions. All rights reserved. 

This manuscript is freely distributable via print or electronic means. Sale for profit of this story without the expressed written consent of David J. Warner, the Marvel Comics Company and Wildstorm Productions is strictly prohibited. 

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HEY! 

This story is part of the Bucktown Timeline, a continuation of events that started in the fan-fiction tale "The Mutants of Bucktown." So if you don't recognize some of these GenXers in here, read that story first. You've been warned... 

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CHAPTER THE FIRST -- MORNING 

"Van Damme, this floor's cold." 

Rayquan Morris has just gotten through his first week at the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, and even though he likes to sleep in on Saturday mornings, his body, still adjusting to a more rigorous schedule than the New York City Public School System ever offered, won't let him. Rayquan looks at the clock by his nightstand again to make sure he isn't seeing things. 

"Seven forty-five?", he says to himself. "That ain't right, kid. I always slept until about nine at home. Oh, well. I gotta find some socks or somethin'." 

He tiptoes over to the closet and opens it, pulling out a pair of socks wrapped up in a ball, a pair of black sweatpants and a New York Knicks T-shirt. He puts the sweat pants on over his boxer shorts, then the T-shirt, then sits down on the floor to put on his socks. He looks around the room and notices his roommate's bed is already made. 

"Hmmph," he thinks. "Nigga must be tryin' to set an example. Or he just an early riser. He still a'ight, though." 

As Rayquan opens the door, still rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he gets a whiff in the hallway of some coffee brewing and immediately follows the smell to its source -- the first-floor kitchen of the boys' dorm, where he finds his already-dressed roommate, Everett Thomas, stirring sugar in his coffee. A couple of his classmates, Angelo Espinosa and Mondo, sit on a couch in the lounge, eating breakfast and watching television. 

"Mornin', Perk," Everett says. "How you like your coffee?" 

"Blacker than the Five Percent Nation," Rayquan replies. "What time you get up, Ev?" 

"About seven," Everett says as he pours another cup of coffee. "I take it you're not used to the early hours." 

"Not on Saturday," Rayquan replies. He takes a seat at the table. "Man, I'm just barely getting used to the weekday mornin's." 

"Well, considering the mutant power you've got," Everett says, "morning shouldn't be too hard. How did you get to that math test on time yesterday? You were still out cold a half-hour before class." 

Everett hands Rayquan a mug. "I always keep a Pepsi in the fridge," Rayquan says. "Y'know, just in case." 

Everett grins at him. "You're learning fast here, huh?" 

"Got to, homie," Rayquan replies. "This place *moves* hella fast." He takes a sip from the mug, and his eyes shut for a moment, then open wide as the caffeine hits his system. "Not bad, Ev," he says, smiling back at his roommate. "Not bad at all." 

Everett looks out of the corner of his eye to see Angelo pouring cereal into his bowl. He then gets an idea. "Hey, Perk," he says quietly, "I dare you to take that bowl of Cap'n Crunch from Skin's hands and bring it back here without spilling any milk." 

Rayquan looks behind him to see Angelo pouring milk on his cereal, then takes another long drink from his coffee mug and sets it firmly on the table. "Clock me," he says to Everett. 

Angelo puts the milk down and grabs a spoon. "I still don't know how can you eat that stuff, Angelo," says Mondo, piling up the orange and grapfruit peelings on the coffee table in front of them. "It has waaaay too much sugar in it for me." 

"I grew up with it, homie," Angelo says, putting his spoon in the cereal. "My posse got through some rough times with pockets full of the stuff." 

He scoops up a spoonful of milk and cereal when suddenly, he feels the bowl and spoon instantly snatched from his hands. 

"Eh?", he says. He looks back at the kitchen. 

"Thanks for the grub, amigo," Rayquan says, the cereal bowl in front of him. Everett checks his watch, then inspects the carpet for spills. "Not bad, Perk," he says nodding. "Not bad at all." 

Angelo shoots them both a dirty look, then holds out his arm toward the kitchen. Suddenly, a layer of distended skin stretches from his arm to a cabinet above the coffee machine, opens the cabinet and grabs another bowl inside. He pulls the skin back toward him, bringing the bowl with it. 

"Pass me that spoon, Mondo," he says. 

"Sure," Mondo replies, grabbing a spoon on the table, "but I used this on a grapefruit earlier." 

"No problemo, Se¤or," says Angelo, who spits on the spoon and wipes it off on his shirt. Mondo shrugs and turns his attention back to the television. 

"Yo, what you all got planned for today?", Rayquan says to anyone listening. 

"We were planning on taking a trip down to Springfield, then over to Boston," says Everett. "Banshee wants to show Charles a few sights." 

"Yo," says Rayquan. "Basketball Hall of Fame?" 

"You know it," says Synch. 

"I'm rollin' wit' y'all, then," replies a grinning Rayquan. 

"Just make sure he don't take no more o' my eats," says Angelo. 

--- 

The airport. San Diego. 

"Damn, G, what's up with that breath?" 

"Huh?" 

"Didn't you brush your teeth after breakfast or somethin'?" 

"I did. But I had to have a snack before I left." 

"Couldn't you wait until you got on the plane?" 

"Jeez, nag me for bein' hungry." 

"Will you two shut up for just a few minutes? We have a plane to catch, remember?" 

The tall redhead snapping back at her friends could easily be mistaken for any leggy supermodel, walking with her entourage down the airport runway. The kids in this quintet are all students, however, in a very special class. On this morning, however, they face their toughest assignment of all -- rescuing their teacher. 

"Sorry, Kat," says Grunge, the young man with a football player's build wearing a denim jacket and jeans and a T-shirt that just barely hides the tattoo on his chest. "But this is a long flight, and I hadda get some munchies..." 

"Coulda gotten a mint with that, too," says Roxanne Spaulding, a free spirit of sorts in a leather jacket, loose purple T-shirt and black bicycle shorts. 

The redhead, Caitlin Fairchild, sighs. "Look, let's just hurry up and get to the gate, okay." 

The conversation is interrupted by an announcement over the intercom: "USAir announces the final boarding call for Flight 8675, non- stop service to Boston, boarding at Gate 21." 

"Uh, guys," says Sarah Rainmaker, a young woman with the heart of an Apache warrior, "this is only gate nine." 

"Oh, shit," says Caitlin, "Let's move." 

The five students quickly adjust their backpacks and carry-on luggage and make a beeline for the end of the terminal. 

"It is way too early in the morning for this," says Bobby Lane, a blonde-haired fellow carrying a few too many items on his shoulder. 

"Hold that plane," shouts Caitlin. 

--- 

Jubilee Lee had a rough day yesterday. She bombed a math test, dozed off twice in her other classes, and nearly started a forest fire in the danger grotto with one of her pyrotechnic displays. That was yesterday, though, and today, she's finally enjoying something she's missed lately -- a good night's, and morning's, sleep. 

The sound of a slamming door and ripping paper interrupt whatever hope she had of continuing that sleep this morning. 

"Jeez, hayseed," she mumbles, "don'tcha know how to be quiet in the morning?" 

"If I were quiet in the morning," Paige Guthrie replies as she balls up her peeled-off layer of skin and tosses it in a hamper in the corner of the room, "you'd never wake up in time for class." 

"It's Saturday, Paige," says a tossing and turning Jubilee. "There's no class, no studying, no tests, no *anything* except catching up on some Z's, comprende?" 

"Well, you can catch up on as many Z's as you want," replies Paige. "I'm going downstairs to make some breakfast." 

Jubilee watches through her blurry eyes as Paige checks herself in the mirror and walks out of the room, leaving the door open. She grumbles as she slowly sits up and slips her feet into some rabbit slippers at the foot of the bed. She yawns and stretches, then stands up, grabs her trademark yellow overcoat and walks down the hall to the kitchen. 

"Freakin' wannabe," she thinks. "'Oh, I'm gonna be an X-Man just like my brother and save the world every day. And while I'm at it, I think I'll kick my roommate out of her room one night a week and make out with my boyfriend-without-a-face.' At least she got that hamper for all that leftover skin. Sheds worse than a cat on Rogaine." 

As Jubilee rubs the sleep from her eyes, she lumbers into the lounge of the makeshift girls' dorm, where she finds Monet St. Croix, looking as perfect as usual, busily typing away at a computer. 

"Are you still sittin' in front of that thing, Monet?", says Jubilee. 

"I've been writing a program that effectively translates the English language to other languages," replies Monet in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. "I have had to access two large Syquest drives and at least seven megabytes of memory to run the translation algorithm. How did you do on that math test yesterday, Jubilee?" 

"Don't start with me, Egghead," says Jubilee. "I'm not in a good mood as it is." 

"Why does that not suprise me?", replies Monet, smiling in a superior fashion as she turns back to the comptuer. Jubilee mutters something incoherently and lumbers into the kitchen, where Paige cracks some eggs over a frying pan on the stove. 

"Man, I still don't know what ol' Manchild sees in her," Jubilee says to whoever wants to listen. 

"She's perfect, Jube," says Paige. "What doesn't he see? Besides, she saved his life last week, remember?" 

"I guess." Jubilee inhales the aroma of the sausage cooking on the stove top. "So can I get some of that or what?" 

"I suppose," says Paige. 

Jubilee turns back to look at Monet. "I don't get it, Paige," she says. "Not even the X-Men pull all-nighters like that unless their lives depended on it, and we could call up Forge to rig up a translator like that within an hour. She's doing all this just so she can chat with Penny?" 

"It's not for herself," replies Paige. "It's for Charles." 

"Say what?" 

"Charles has been struggling trying to talk to Penance, so Monet just wanted to make it easier for him." 

Jubilee cocks her brow at Paige, then looks back at Monet, who sits upright in front of the computer, typing at blazing speeds on the keyboard. 

"Humph," Jubilee says. "She really is in love, isn't she?" 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?", says Paige. 

"I guess," replies Jubilee, reaching for the fridge. "So where's the orange juice?" 

--- 

John Lynch doesn't like to regain his consciousness in strange places, but he's starting to get used to it. As his eyes uncloud, he immediately feels the straps that tie him to the platform. He struggles a bit, then decides it's useless. His eyes grow wide with shock when he realizes that the straps he feels against him aren't even there. 

"Do not attempt to struggle against my powers, Mr. Lynch," says the darkened figure sitting across from him. "You will find that task to be quite useless." 

"You mean you're holding me down with your thoughts?", says Lynch. 

"That is an accurate description," replies the figure. 

"You must be one hell of a Gen-active, then," says Lynch. "Ivana must have been holding back her big guns until now." 

"I do not know of any Ivana, Mr. Lynch," says the figure, who stands up and walks out of the shadow. "I am acting on my own, and you are the tool that will allow me to destroy Charles Xavier once and for all." 

"Charles Xav...what is this?", replies a confused Lynch. "Who are you?" 

"My name is none of your concern," says the man now standing before Lynch, "but you may call me...Exodus." 

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CHAPTER THE SECOND -- NOSEDIVE 

"Bonjour, computer. J'mapelle Jono. Comment allez vous?" Chamber presses return on the keyboard. 

"Hello, computer," the PC replies a few seconds later. "I am named Jono. How are you?" 

"I am fine, thank you," says Emma Frost. "And you?" She presses return. 

"Je suis bien, merci," the computer replies. "Et vous?" 

"It still needs some work," says Monet, standing with Emma and Jono at the computer screen. "Dialects, especially American dialects of English, are difficult for the algorithm to discern. For the most part, however, the basic formula is in place." 

"Color me five shades of impressed, M," says Jono. "Y'just might've eliminated some jobs at the U.N." 

"Thank you, Jono," Monet says, "but to do that effectively, I would have to get the algorithm to work in real time, and that may take several weeks of optimization at my current rate of progress." 

"No worries, love," replies Jono. "Do y'ave the Serbo-Croatian dictionary in there?" 

"Right here," says Monet, holding up a Syquest drive. 

"Y'mind if I try it wit' Penance?", says Jono. 

"Not yet," says Monet. "I would like to polish up the program a bit before Charles returns from Boston." 

"It's so intriguing to me, Monet, that you and Charles hit it off so well," says Emma, her voice showing a hint of pessimism. "What is it about him that attracts you so much?" 

"To be honest, Emm-- sir, I really don't know," says Monet. "I think it's the fact that in spite of everything he has endured, he still seems so...childlike. He has not lost his sense of wonder. That's something very special." 

"I suppose it is," says Emma, who does not seem satisfied with Monet's answer, yet accepts it for the time being. Chamber glares at her as she walks out of the room. "What is it, Jono?", says Monet. 

"Nuttin', love," Jono replies. "She just gives me the willies sometimes." 

--- 

"That was incredible!" 

The average bystander looking at Charles Xavier Lehnscherr as he walks with his friends out of the Springfield Science Museum would assume he is a high school athlete, every schoolgirl's dream, and an all- around popular guy. He certainly looks the part, with his well-trimmed blonde hair, crystal blue eyes and striking good looks, not to mention his white silk Boston Celtics jacket, stonewashed jeans and black gloves. 

Nobody would expect this young manchild is the son of an alternate universe's Magneto and Rogue. Nobody knows he was captured by Apocalypse and used as a pawn in a madman's game, or that he expected to end his life in his parents' arms as the world he knew exploded in front of him. Nobody would ever guess that a run-in with Mr. Sinister transformed him from a 5-year-old boy into a powerful teenager with a myriad of mutant powers he is still learning to control. 

He has seen very little of this world in the two weeks since he arrived here, a lost and confused soul sobbing in front of the Apollo Theater in New York City. Much of what he has seen has been almost as dark as the world he knew before. His time at the Xavier School, however, has introduced him to a whole new world, far more fascinating than the one he left. 

"Did ye enjoy the demonstrations, lad?", says Sean Cassidy, a/k/a the former X-Man Banshee, now the Headmaster of the Xavier School, who walks with Charles, Everett, Angelo, Mondo and Rayquan out of the museum into the parking lot. 

"It was amazing, Mr. Cassidy," says Charles. "The lightning display was fascinating, and the planetarium..." 

"Well, if it wasn't for Mondo playin' the clown with those fake dinosaurs," says Angelo, "I probably would have fallen asleep." 

"Hey, life is much too short not to make people laugh every once in a while," says Mondo. 

"How about ye, Rayquan?", says Sean. 

"I'm still buggin' off my man Wilt," replies Rayquan, acting out a jump shot. "One hundred, kid. Jordan never even hit 70." 

"So where are we off to now?", asks Everett. 

"Beantown, lad," says Sean. "Hop in the van -- this should be fun." 

"Yo, Chuck, why don't we hit the courts up there and school some locals?" says Rayquan, pretending to dribble. "I hit the J, you block the shots, we take the loot and run 'em all." 

"I don't want any of ye being conspicuous, Rayquan," says Sean. "The last thing we need is an uprising 200 miles from home." 

"Don't sweat it, Mr. Cassidy," says Rayquan. "Ain't nothin' risin' about this J, 'cause they all fall. Straight butter, baby." 

Sean sighs heavily and shakes his head. 

--- 

In the air. 

"Big ol' jet airlinuh! Don't carry me too far awaaaay!" 

"Grunge," says Bobby, pulling the headphones off his classmate's ears. "Keep it down will ya?" 

"Jeez, sorry," says Grunge, readjusting his headset. "Don't flame me or nothin'." 

"I never figured you to be the Steve Miller type, Grunge," says Caitlin. "Figured you'd just be into modern alternative stuff." 

"Hey, it's still rock'n'roll to me," replies Grunge. 

"Well, it would be a lot easier to enjoy if you weren't singing it," says Sarah. "Don't you have something to read in your carry-on?" 

"Ummmm, well, I kinda forgot to bring anything," says Grunge. "I got plenty of tapes, though." 

"Here," says Caitlin, who hands Grunge an old copy of Sports Illustrated. 

"Hey, Mo Vaughn," says Grunge. "Think the Red Sox will win it this year?" 

Caitlin looks at Bobby, and they both shake their head and grin. She returns to her notebook, where she looks over all the possible leads she has in the team's quest to rescue its teacher. "You better be okay, Mr. Lynch," she thinks as she looks out the window. "We all need you around." 

--- 

Later that afternoon... 

"Yo! Who got next?" 

It's no different than any other blacktop court in any other cage anywhere else on the eastern seaboard. The players in Roxbury, however, like to think of themselves as being at a different level than other players. 

"I cannae believe I'm lettin' ye do this," says Banshee, rubbing his forehead as if to calm a headache. 

"Relax, Mr. Cassidy," says Mondo. "We can handle ourselves if something happens." 

"Yo, Slick," one player on the court says to another, "the kids are here. Must be time for school to start." 

"Hey, this is NYC representin', Ock," says Rayquan, pointing down at himself with pride. "Y'all Roxbury folks can't touch a J like this." 

"Larry Bird there ain't no NYC," says the player, pointing at Charles. 

"He don't need to be," boasts Rayquan. "He's got the mad vertical." 

"HE'S got mad vertical?", says the player. "I'd like to see that." 

"Hey Everett, what's that in the air?", says Charles, pointing at the plane directly above him. 

"Where have you been?", says Everett softly. "It's an airplane, commercial jet. It serves as transportation for people. They fly to and from every big city in the country every day. That one'll likely land at an airport right here in Boston." 

Aboard the airplane, everyone sits reading and chatting with other passengers. Roxanne thumbs through a magazine, while Grunge tosses peanuts into the air and into his mouth. The sudden explosion of two of the plane's engines, one on each side, causes Grunge to spit out pieces of chewed peanuts all over the seat in front of him. 

"Unless, of course, it lands somewhere else in Boston," says Everett, watching the explosion with his classmates. 

"They're in trouble, aren't they," says Charles. "We've got to help them, Mr. Cassidy. Come on." 

"Charles, wait..." 

Before Sean can say anything else, Charles takes off into the sky toward the plane, which starts to turn downward. 

"Charles, have ye lost yuir mind?", he shouts, his sonic scream keeping him aloft as he tries to catch up to the rocketing son of Magneto. "Ye can't save everybody." 

"I know, Mr. Cassidy," Charles replies, "My father taught me the same thing, but he also said it shouldn't be for lack of trying." He takes off faster toward the falling plane while Banshee lags behind. The game stops on the ground as the student and teacher fly toward the plane, and the player that talked trash to Rayquan moments earlier finds himself staring blankly into the sky. 

"Told ya he had mad vertical," says Rayquan. 

"So what now?", says Mondo. 

"That's an easy one," says Everett. "We've got to get to the airport. Who has the spare keys to the van?" 

"That would be me," says Mondo, pulling the keys out of his wrist. 

"Then let's roll." 

--- 

"Look, Exodus," says Lynch. "I don't know what you've been sniffing, but my school doesn't have anything to do with Charles Xavier. It never has." 

"You argue your case," replies Exodus, "but your thoughts betray you. I sensed the connection between you, your students and Xavier immediately." 

Lynch restrains from throwing a snide remark back at Exodus when he remembers what happened when he blacked out -- he was leafing through a newspaper when he spotted an article about the Legacy Virus, an article which prominently featured Xavier. At the time, he thought about giving the professor a call to chat about the virus and about mutant relations in general and how they could affect his students. 

"You must have sensed a bad connection then," Lynch says. "I had not had any contact with Xavier before I considered calling him -- aside from reading about him, of course." 

"Your mock sincerity cannot hide the truth from me," replies Exodus. "In fact, as we speak, I am preparing a series of tests that will lead up to your students' demise, and ultimately crush Xavier and his precious X-Men." 

So the rumors I heard are true, thinks Lynch. Xavier does lead the X-Men, and they obviously pissed this Exodus guy off. Perhaps the professor is training a new generation of X-Men at his school now. But they're on the East Coast -- how could this guy confuse my school with his? And what about these 'tests'? 

Ah, forget it. I'm sure the kids will pass 'em all with flying colors. 

--- 

"Omigod!", screams Roxanne, holding on to Grunge in a panic. "We're gonna die! We're gonna die!" 

"Snap out of it, Roxy," shouts Caitlin. "We've got to do something." 

As the plane's nose lowers toward the ground, the passenger's all feel their hearts reach into their throats and sink to their stomachs at the same time. Women shriek, children begin crying, and only one young woman manages to keep her calm. 

"Don't panic, people!", she shouts. "We'll get it under control." Her shouts go unheard. Her teammates are too busy praying for a miracle. The wailing sound Roxanne hears outside lets her know that the miracle has arrived. 

"Hey," she says, glancing out the window as she clutches Grunge's chest. "There's someone out there." 

She only gets a glimpse of the white of Manchild's jacket as he flies underneath the nose of the plane, trying his best to steady it. 

"Hey, we're leveling off," says Roxanne. 

In the cockpit, the pilots fight at the controls, surprised as anyone else that the plane is not only balancing itself, but slowly down. They're even more surprised when they see a man flying in front of them. 

"Cut off the bleatin' engines!", he shouts, "we'll bring it in." 

The pilots and stewardesses stare at the man in disbelief. "Flight 8675, this is Boston. Are you still there? Over." 

"Roger, Boston," replies the pilot. "And we've got company." 

"Flight 8675, say that again?" 

Manchild struggles against the nose of the airplane as they both fly forward. With all his might, he pushes the nose of plane upward, attempting to keep it level as it glides into the airport. Banshee immediately notices the plane rolling to the left, and uses his sonic scream to turn the falling wing of the plane back upward. "Have to time this just right," he thinks, "or the wing'll shatter into pieces." 

"What's happening out there?", says Grunge, pressing his face to the window, trying to keep steady as the cabin shakes around him. 

"I saw someone out there," says Roxy. "There's someone out there keeping this plane up." 

"Well if there's a person outside trying to control this plane," says Bobby, "we oughta be helping him. Keep that seat belt on tight, Fairchild." 

"Gotcha," she replies, turning to the emergency exit beside her and throwing it open. As the door flies free, huge gusts of wind swirl into the cabin, and oxygen masks fall from the baggage compartments. 

"Saints preserve us all," thinks Banshee as he catches sight of the falling exit door. "What's happening up there?" 

"Freefall!", shouts Burnout as he heads out the door, "let's go!" 

"I'm on it, Bobby!", she says, letting go of Grunge and flying out of the plane with Burnout. 

"Go get 'em, guys," says Fairchild. "We're counting on ya." 

As the two extraordinary students fly outside of the plane, they look underneath and spot one man floating vertically underneath the plane, looking as if he's screaming at each wing alternately to keep the plane from rolling over. Up front is a handsome tow-headed teen struggling to keep the nose of the plane level with the rest of it. 

"Allow me, sir," Burnout says to Banshee as plasma blasts emerge from his hands and balance the torn wings of the plane without breaking through their metal frames. 

"Much obliged, lad," says Banshee, carefully adjusting his sonic scream to stay with the plane, "whoever ye may be." 

"Call me Burnout," he replies. "In front of you is Freefall." 

"Hey there, cutie," says Freefall, "need a hand?" 

"Wha?" is all Manchild can reply as Freefall lets loose a barrage of gravity bubbles to keep the plane afloat. 

"Say, big fella," Freefall says, "think you can slow this plane down a bit?" 

"I'll give it my best," he replies, flying in front of the nose of the plane and pushing against it until the plane stops in mid-air. 

"Nice work, kiddies," says Banshee. "Now where can we set this thing down?" 

As soon as he says it, a helicopter flies up to the stationary airplane. The words "Deadline America" are painted on the side of the helicopter, and a camera points directly at the foursome holding up the airplane. A voice immediately comes over the chopper's loud speaker. "You there! This is Nicole Marker! Are you all okay?" 

Banshee immediately flies up to the chopper and peers his head inside. "Don't mean t'be rude, lass," he says, "but if ye could put yuir camera down and quit tryin' t'do yuir bleatin' job for two seconds, we'd like to find a place t'land this bucket o' bolts." 

"No problem, mister," she says, "just organize your teen titans here and follow me." 

Banshee flies back underneath the floating jet and directs the teens underneath it. Manchild lifts the nose of the plane, while Freefall adjusts her gravity bubbles to keep the wings steady. Burnout flies up to the back of the plane and takes the rear spoiler, pushing the plane slowly in the direction of the helicopter. As they come to the airport, a large crowd of emergency vehicles gathers on the runway, watching in disbelief as three teenagers and another man guide the plane in with their strange powers. 

--- 

"Looks like we're just in time for the party," says Rayquan as Angelo parks the van. "You all caffed up, Ev?" 

"Yeah," says Everett who turns to find one of his teammates missing. "Where'd Mondo go?" 

"Ten to one he's on his way inside, amigo," replies Angelo. 

"Damn," says Everett. "I wanted to try out our little trick with him." 

"What trick?", says Angelo. 

"Perk and I have something we've been working on," says Everett. "See, he can slow down time for himself, but not for anyone else. When I synch with him, though, I can slow down time for anyone inside my mutagenic aura." 

"Come again?", says Angelo. 

"Just show him, homie," says Rayquan 

--- 

The helicopter and the airplane slowly fly over the airport runway. As the emergency workers below clear room for the plane to land, Freefall and Manchild slowly lower the plane down the ground. Manchild's feet hit the runway, and he slowly walks over to the nose and gently sets it on the pavement. Freefall flies out from underneath the plane, slowly shrinking the gravity bubbles she created underneath it, until with a flourish of her hands, they disappear, and the plane makes a light thud on the ground, shaking up a few of the passengers. 

"Damn, I'm good," she says, blowing her knuckles and rubbing them on her shoulder. 

"Whatever you say, Miss Omigodweregonnadie," quips Burnout. 

"Shut up," says Freefall. 

Inside the plane, Fairchild and Rainmaker get up and begin to direct the passengers. "Okay, folks," says Fairchild, "we're safe now. Let's get out of here. Women and children first." 

"Hey, I'm children," shouts Grunge as he climbs over his seat and heads for the inflatible slide at the emergency exit. 

"Grunge!?", shouts Rainmaker. 

"Say, big guy," Freefall says as she walks up to Manchild, "you're pretty good. I owe ya one. What's your name?" 

"Uhh, Charles," replies a confused Manchild. "My name is Charles." 

"Well, my name is Roxanne," says Freefall, who leans into Manchild and wraps her arms around him. "But you can call me Roxy. In fact, you can call me anything you want, so long as you call me." 

She stares into Charles' eyes and smiles, while Charles suddenly becomes apprehensive. The moment is interrupted by the sound of Grunge sliding out of the airplane and falling to his knees on the ground. 

"I'M ALIIIIIVE!!!!!", he shouts joyously, and bends over to kiss the ground. His eyes open wide as a large head suddenly emerges from the very spot where he was kissing. 

"BLEAH!", he shouts, spitting out whatever he can from his mouth. 

"Sorry 'bout that," says Mondo. "Didn't see you there." He spots Charles out of the corner of his eye, an attractive young woman holding on to him. "Hey, Charles," says Mondo, "better not let Monet see you with her." 

"Monet?", says Freefall, "who's Monet?" 

"Mondo!", shouts Banshee. "Where're the others?" 

A rainbow suddenly appears then disappears, leaving Synch, Skin and Perkolater in its wake. 

"Uh, right there?", says Mondo. 

"Whatcha think, Ange?", says Perkolater. 

"Neat trick, hombre," says Skin. "We should try that again sometime." 

"Everyone okay?", says Synch. 

"All things considered, lad," replies Banshee. "P'haps ye could help with the..." Banshee stops as he spots a couple of attractive young women walking up to him. 

"We had to come up and thank you, sir," says Fairchild. "What you and your friend did was nothing short of incredible." 

"Whoa," says Skin, staring at the women talking to Banshee. 

"Hellooo, nurse," says Synch, staring along with Skin. 

"I hope my friends weren't too much trouble for you out there," continues Caitlin. 

"Your friends?", says Banshee. "Do all of ye have mutant powers?" 

"We're not mutants," says Rainmaker. 

"Could have fooled me, girl," says Perkolater. 

"It's a long story, really," says Fairchild. 

"Well, lass, fer what it's worth, I'd love t'hear it. My students and I are about t'head back t'school. Would ye care t'join us?" 

"Well...", says Rainmaker 

"We'd love to," interrupts Fairchild. 

"You, sir," shouts the woman from the helicopter, running up to Banshee with a cameraman close behind her. "What is your name? Where are you from?" 

"Get that blasted camera out of me face!", shouts Banshee. A sudden charge of electricity jolts the camera, and it goes dead. 

"You didn't have to do that, Sarah," whispers Caitlin. 

"Trust me, Kate," says Sarah, looking over at the dozens of reporters being blocked by policemen. "Somebody had to." 

"Point taken," replies Caitlin. 

"Yo, Ange," Synch says quietly, "I don't care what you say -- the redhead is mine." 

"Fine with me, amigo," replies Skin. "Dark-skinned chica ain't no consolation prize to me." 

"Bobby! Roxy! Grunge! Let's go!" The threesome hears Fairchild's call and walks over to the group as Manchild follows, when he hears another voice above him. 

"Charles?" 

"Monet!", says a smiling Manchild, who runs up to M as she lands on the sidewalk. 

"I spotted you on television," she says. "Are you okay?" 

"How I am isn't so important," he says. "It's all the people on this airplane that matter. I saw the engines explode, and I had to do something." 

"For better or for worse," M says, "you did the right thing." 

She hugs him tightly and kisses him as flashbulbs and spotlights light up the darkening day behind them. Freefall looks back at Charles and Monet and sighs. 

"The good ones are always taken," she says. 

"Don't sweat it, Roxy," says Grunge. "Ya still got me." 

She rolls her eyes and walks away. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE THIRD -- INTRODUCTIONS 

Exodus paces the floor in the small, wood-paneled room. His plans have been carefully laid out for this conquest. A new variable, however, has suddenly entered the picture. 

"Very interesting," Exodus says softly. "Your students have successfully completed the first test, though they required the help of a known X-Man to do so. They have also allied themselves with a group I have not encountered before." 

"How do you know all this?", says Lynch. "You have video or something?" 

"Telepathically, yes," replies Exodus. "I am able to use my mind in ways that ordinary men, even some mutants, could not possibly imagine. I can not only witness the success of your students, but also maintain my firm hold over you and prepare your students for their upcoming tests." 

"Hmmm, mental multitasking," says Lynch. "Sort of like Windows 95, huh?" 

Exodus tightens his telepathic straps against Lynch. "You dare compare my power to such folly?", he says. "You cannot comprehend how easily I could crush you." 

"Hey, it's just an analogy," Lynch grunts. "I can't stand Bill Gates, either." 

Exodus' stare penetrates Lynch as he struggles upon the platform. He knows he could kill Lynch now, but it would not serve his purpose. "Very well." Exodus returns his grasp on Lynch and the platform to its normal tension. Lynch lets out a gasp and wriggles around a bit underneath the mutant's hold. 

"Perhaps you would be more impressed to see my next test for the students," says Exodus as he mentally commands a wall to slide open, revealing a tall, red-tinted robot with a molded face and imposing metal arms. 

"Are you familiar with this technology, Mr. Lynch?", asks Exodus. 

"Looks like some androids I've seen before," replies Lynch, "but they aren't quite shaped like that. What is it?" 

"It is based upon sentinel technology," Exodus says, "except that I have enhanced it to attack only certain mutants -- namely, your students." 

"Look, how many times do I have to-" 

"Silence!", shouts Exodus back at Lynch. "I have programmed these sentinels to destroy you at my beckoning, also." The robot points its arm at Lynch and reveals several laser turrets on its palm. 

"But you won't do that," Lynch replies, "because that isn't in your plan. You would have killed me already if it were." 

Exodus is silent. The robot drops his arm. 

"You know, Exodus," Lynch continues, "aside from all this telepathy you can handle, you make one hell of a metalsmith. Maybe after all this is over, you could help me straighten out my eyesight." 

The imposing long-haired mutant cracks a faint smile. "You amuse me, Mr. Lynch. Because of this, your death will be painless." 

"You're all heart, mister," replies Lynch. 

--- 

"Yo, move your leg, man." 

"Move your own leg, gringo." 

"Hey, I ain't the one with 60 feet of skin, nigga." 

"Watch it, Rayquan," says Banshee, looking at the crowd of teenagers behind him. "Don't make me yell at ye." Angelo shudders at the thought. 

"Yo, you can float," Rayquan says to Freefall. "Can't you get up on the roof or somethin'?" 

"The ceiling is occupied, thank you," says Monet, who despite being upside down lays back casually on the ceiling of the van. 

"The ceiling is occupied, thank you," mocks Freefall. "I'm scrunched here against the window, and Miss I'm-all-that gets the whole roof to herself." 

"It's not so bad," says Grunge, sitting next to her. "We can get kinda cozy over here." Freefall elbows Grunge in the ribs. "Can it, tattoo boy." 

"Sorry about all this, lass," Banshee says to Fairchild, who sits in the front passenger seat next to Manchild, who sits on the floor, gazing upon Monet. "The van is nae equipped to handle so many people." 

"It's okay, Mr. Cassidy," says Fairchild. "We've been through worse." 

"Not much worse," says Rainmaker, squeezing in uncomfortably between Mondo and Synch, while Burnout sits on the end of the seat, looking jealously upon the students on either side of her. 

"So explain somethin' t'me," Banshee says to Fairchild. "If ye aren't mutants, what exactly are ye?" 

"Well, Mr. Cassidy," Fairchild begins, "it's not so much us, but our parents. They were part of this government experiment to create an army of super-powered men to fight for the U.S. government. It was called the Gen-12 Project, and the group was called Team 7. It was supposed to be terminated after the Vietnam war, along with all of the members of the team. Instead, some of the team members escaped and managed to live normal lives, some of them even having children." 

"And ye're the children?", says Banshee. 

"You could say that," replies Fairchild. "A few months ago, one of the leaders of the Gen-12 Project, this woman named Ivana, decided to search for the children of the Gen-12 subjects and use them as a brand new military super-force. Naturally, the project was code-named Gen-13. About a hundred kids were involved in the project, but only the five of us proved to be Gen-active. We escaped Ivana with the help of a man named John Lynch. He was part of Team 7, and a part of this project at first, but he didn't like what they were doing to us, so he helped us break out of there. After all that, he started a small private school in San Diego, where we could learn more about what kind of powers we have and how to use them wisely." 

"That sounds distinctly similar to the early years of the X- Men," says Monet. 

"I've heard about them," says Grunge. "What do you guys have to do with them?" 

"That's an ever longer story, lad," says Banshee, "but t'make it short, Professor Charles Xavier started a school a couple o' decades ago to teach young mutants -- people born with these genetic anomalies that give 'em special powers -- how to control their powers and live in a society that hates and fears them. His students were called the X- Men, and nowadays the X-Men're a fighting force trying pretty much t'protect the world from itself." 

"Phat," says Freefall. "So, like, how do the X-Men relate to you guys?" 

"We're the next generation," says Synch. "We all have mutant powers of some sort, so we're going to the new Xavier School to learn all about 'em, not to mention take on some phat adventures in the process." 

"So will you guys become X-Men after you graduate?", asks Fairchild. 

"Some of us will," says Skin. "There's a pretty long line ahead of us, and a few of us don't plan to stick around after graduation." 

"Y'know, Jubilee was tellin' me about that," says Synch. "How come you don't wanna stay on?" 

"Jubilee's got a big mouth," says Skin, "and after all we've been through lately -- Cassidy Keep, Omega Red, Sinister, and all that -- I've had enough surprises for one lifetime. All I wanna to is get full control of this extra skin, cut back on these migraines and start livin' a normal life -- maybe go to college, get a job, meet some fly chicas, that sort of thing." 

"Ain't no fly chicas *I* know that dig gray skin, Ock," says Rayquan, grinning. 

"Relax, boyo," says Banshee, "if Angelo wishes to leave us after graduation, that's his right. We cannae keep 'im here against his will." 

"I dunno," says Grunge. "No matter what power I had, I'd love to hang out for a while. Just seems like a cool place." 

"Wait until you see the campus, my friend," says Mondo. "It is quite incredible." 

--- 

She sits perched in the tree, exploring the landscape of the biosphere with her eyes, just as she has done countless times before. Nothing has changed, save for the blackened bush below her to the left. Surely there is more than this, but her recent relapse, dealt to her by one of the Bedlam Brothers, has made her more pensive than usual. Only a few select people will she let herself trust now. 

The girl in the yellow jacket that enters the room is one of them. 

"Penny?" 

She watches as the girl looks around the biosphere, taking the backpack off her shoulder. Finally, the girl spots her and walks up to the tree where she sits. 

"Hi, Penny. What's up?" 

She stares at the girl and smiles slightly. The girl sighs. 

"I know, I know, you still aren't talking after the relapse. That and I'm no good with other languages aside from good old-fashioned English." 

The girl reaches into the backpack and pulls out a notebook computer and some peripherals. 

"But maybe we can change that." 

She jumps down from the tree as the girl walks over to the wall and plugs in a long extension cord. She watches closely as the girl carefully connects one machine to another, and she wonders what those machines do, and why the girl seems so focused on them. 

"Monet will probably kill me if she finds me with this," the girl says as she turns on the computer and begins typing, "but I had to do it. God, Penny, you've become my best friend here. I gotta be able to talk to you." 

Within moments, the girl has the program running, and begins talking. "Hello, Penny. How are you?" 

She watches the computer in the girl's hands, then as the girl hits return, she hears it speaking in her native tongue. Her eyes light up at the sound of the computer voice. 

"It's a translator. All you have to do is speak into it, and we can talk to each other." 

The girl presses a key, and the computer begins speaking again. She stares in amazement at the computer, then smiles gratefully back at the girl. As the girl encourages her, she speaks slowly into the computer's microphone in Serbo-Croatian. The girl presses a key. 

"I thank you with everything in my heart." 

She smiles at the girl, who suddenly doesn't feel as depressed as she did the night before. 

"Ya know, maybe I shouldn't spoil the moment." 

They both turn in shock to see Mondo's head and shoulders coming out of the ground. Jubilee barely catches the notebook computer before it falls on the grass. 

"Mondo!", shouts Jubilee indignantly. "Don't DO that!" 

"My apologies," Mondo says as he rises from the ground, "but Mr. Cassidy wanted me let you both know that we have some guests that came back with us from Boston." 

"Guests?", says Jubilee. 

"I'll explain along the way," he replies. "'Allo, Penance. Care to join us?" She smiles at Mondo, then back at Jubilee. 

"Gimme a minute," says Jubilee, "I have to unplug this crap before Monet catches me with it. We'll talk again later, Penny. I promise." 

--- 

Banshee pulls the van into the main circular driveway at the front of the Xavier School. As he parks the vehicle, the bevy of students inside quickly file out of their cramped quarters. 

"You weren't kidding, Mr. Cassidy," says Fairchild, as she looks upon the campus. "This is one incredible place." 

"I'll say," says Grunge. "Almost as good as our place." 

"Are you kidding?", says a shivering Freefall. "I'm freezing my ass off up here." 

"I can fix that if you want," says Burnout, who creates a small fire ball in his hand. Freefall holds opens her jacket up and moves her body closer to the ball. "Ahhhh," she says, "this is much better." 

"I'll vouch for that," says Angelo, who finds himself staring at Freefall's frame. 

"Down, boy," says Synch as they and the rest of the group turn to the front steps of the main building, where Emma Frost walks down with Husk and Perkolater to greet their surprise guests. Fairchild immediately walks up to her. 

"You must be Ms. Frost," she says, holding out her hand. "My name is Caitlin Fairchild, and these are my teammates..." 

"Charmed," Emma replies, barely acknowledging her hand with a half-hearted shake. "No need for introductions, Mr. Cassidy has already communicated to me who all of you are. Welcome to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters." 

"Whoa," says Freefall. "She weirds me already." 

Emma looks at the group, paying particular attention to Grunge, who cannot stop staring at her. She casts a wicked, flirting smile upon him. 

"That will be enough, young man." 

"Wha?", says Grunge. "Who said that?" 

"She's a telepath," whispers Synch. "Watch your head." 

As Paige introduces herself, Jubilee and Mondo walk around the side of the building to the front. Penance, meanwhile, peers around the corner. 

"'Allo again, all!", shouts Mondo. "Welcome to our humble home. Allow me to introduce two of my friends, Jubilee and Penan--." 

"MUTANT TARGETS IDENTIFIED. PREPARING OFFENSIVE WEAPONS." 

The echo of the robots as they suddenly appear through the woods quickly puts an end to friendly gestures and awkward greetings. Five large, red-tinted sentinels slowly close in on the entire group, their weapons aimed at the Gen-13 students. 

"Uh, guys," says Fairchild, "I think it's time for a crash course in what powers we've got here." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE FOURTH -- THROWN TOGETHER 

"IDENTIFICATION OF MUTANT TARGETS CONFIRMED. OFFENSIVE WEAPONS ON-LINE." 

The sentinels slowly advance on the group, surrounding the five students that make up the team called Gen-13. 

"Hey, wait a minute," says Grunge. "We're not mutants. Why're they closing in on us?" 

"No time for questions," says Fairchild. "Just move!" 

Immediately, she charges one of the sentinels and puts her fist straight through its core. As woman and machine begin to wrestle on the ground, everyone else begins to take action. 

"Let's bug out, guys!", shouts Freefall, who immediately flies upward and surrounds the rest of her teammates in gravity bubbles which raise them from their sitting duck position. The sentinel lasers punch holes in the pavement. 

"Synch!", shouts Jubilee. 

"I'm on it, J," he replies. 

As Fairchild fights atop one of the sentinels, a second approaches her and prepares to fire. In an instant, she is pushed out of the way, and one sentinel blasts the other. Synch's aura surrounds Jubilee, and the two proceed to blow up the standing sentinel while the rest of the teams duck the resulting debris. 

"Thanks," says Fairchild. 

"No prob," says Perkolater, his arms still around her waist. "Y'know, I kinda liked that. Think we might be able to take out the rest of the bots doing that?" 

"Maybe," she replies, getting up and walking toward a tall tree, "but I have a better idea." 

"Hey, watch it down there!", shouts Freefall as she sets Grunge and Rainmaker down to the side. "You almost knicked me with that explosion." 

"TARGET ACQUIRED. PREPARING WEAPONS SYSTEMS." 

"*ulp*" 

"Don't sweat it," shouts Burnout. "I got him covered." He fires plasma blasts at the sentinel's raised arm, preventing it from firing. 

"!Callate!", shouts Skin, "don't be firing on the chicas." Skin wraps his elongated fingers around the head of the sentinel and pulls it backward. 

"VIEWSCREEN DISABLED. MOTION SENSORS DETECT INTERFERING PARTY. TARGET DESIGNATED FOR ELIMINATION." 

"Not on my watch!", shouts Husk as she rips her skin off to reveal a stone form underneath. 

"Perfect," says Rainmaker, who sneaks up behind Husk, grabs at her waist and pulls her backward. "Just the barrier I needed." Husk watches in mild shock as Rainmaker fires lightning blasts from her wrists to disable the robot. Skin immediately pulls his fingers back and retreats as the robot falls forward. 

"You okay, Ange?", says Husk. 

"Uhhh, yeah," he says, caught in another stare as Rainmaker fires on another robot. 

"They're handling it quite well, wouldn't you say?", says Emma, who ducks with Banshee behind the van. 

"Indeed, Emma," says Banshee. "But we're missing a few." 

Banshee looks up to see Charles floating above the van, almost in a state of shock. 

"Charles!", shouts Banshee, "don't black out on us now, lad!" 

A sixth sentinel suddenly appears behind them. "X-MAN IDENTIFIED. ACTIVATING SONIC DISRUPTOR." 

As Banshee stands and prepares to use his sonic scream, a sudden wave of energy breaks his concentration and forces him into a state of vertigo. He and Emma both clutch their ears and collapse to the ground as the sentinel raises his weapons to fire. 

"Naff off, Fishhead!" 

A bolt of psionic energy rips the sentinel in two, shutting down the sonic disruptor. The wrappings that usually surround Chamber's chest are open to reveal the psionic chamber that now resides there. 

"Y'okay, folks?", he says as he walks up to Banshee and Emma. 

"All things considered, lad," says Banshee. All three suddenly feel something slam against the other side of the van, which begins to tip over. As they struggle to lift it back up, Grunge jumps in, places his hands on the raised bumper, bonding his molecules with that metal and quickly slamming the van on all four tires. 

"No problem, eh?", he says to Banshee. 

"Sentinels!", shouts M as she flies over the attacking robots, "Override code 3472!" 

Three of the four standing robots drop their weapons and cease their attack. As Fairchild charges them with the trunk of a large oak tree, the fourth, still on the ground from Fairchild's previous attack, lifts its arm toward Monet. 

"VOICE COMMAND NOT RECOGNIZED. ELIMINATE TARGET." 

"Yeah, that'll happen!", shouts Jubilee as she and Synch execute their shared powers upon the fallen automaton, which explodes in front of everyone. M, however, is unprepared as several pieces of flying debris strike her chest, and she screams in pain as she falls backward. 

While Freefall encases her in a gravity bubble, Manchild immediately snaps from his near-catatonic state as a memory of his father's suddenly pops into his mind -- a young, frantic Rogue runs up to him sobbing. He tries to comfort her, only to see out of the corner of his eye the dead figure of the Scarlet Witch, lying on a pile of rubble in front of him and his X-Men. 

"ENOUGH!" Manchild immediately snaps into action, using his magnetic powers to gather the remaining robots, several of them still repairing themselves, in a powerful force field. 

"MAGNETIC FORCE FIELD DETECTED. ALL SYSTEMS DISABLED. SHUTDOWN IMMINENT." 

"NO!", he shouts, adjusting the force field to squash the sentinels and debris together. "I refuse to let you invade my home and endanger the lives of my friends without accounting for yourselves!" 

Manchild's power signature is immediately recognizable to Banshee and Emma. "No doubt about it, Irish," she says, "he's his father's son." The rest of the crowd looks on in awe. 

"You will tell me who sent you and where they are located," shouts Manchild to the sentinels. "NOW!" 

--- 

"No," says Exodus. "This is all wrong." 

"So you've come to your senses about me and the kids, huh?", says Lynch. 

"The power enacted upon those robots," says Exodus, shaking his head. "It seems so...familiar." 

"So what is that supposed to mean?", says Lynch. "It's not like you haven't learned all about us." 

"It was not from your students," says Exodus, "but from the other group of children that they have met along the way. Yet it feels like...no, it cannot be." 

"Look, I'd love to lie here and solve these riddles all day," says Lynch, "but why don't you just cut to the chase and tell...me..." 

Lynch's head collapses on the platform. "You are starting to annoy me, Mr. Lynch. Coupled with these failures, and this new variable in my plans, I must find a way to adjust." 

--- 

Monet rests in the long bathtub in her room, a towel wrapping her long black hair and a wave of suds covering the water in which she sits. As she awakens, she is comforted by the first thing she sees. 

"Relax, Monet," says Charles, who sits on a pair of encyclopedia volumes beside the bathtub. "You've been hit pretty hard." 

She smiles warmly at him as he brushes his hand across her cheek. "I was so scared that the debris from that explosion had hurt you badly," he says, "or worse..." 

"Do not worry yourself over me," she replies. "I will return to full strength in a matter of hours. I'm very proud of you, Charles -- your magnetic powers are improving so much." 

"I owe that to you, Monet," he says. 

"Those children," she continues, turning her head away slightly and frowning. "How could they be so reckless in destroying that sentinel? We could have gotten valuable information from it." 

"We did," he replies. "I found quite a bit of info on the EPROM of those sentinels. It's encrypted, though, so we'll have to decode it later." 

They gaze upon each other for a few moments. "But it can wait." 

"Where are the others?", she asks. 

"The main building," he replies. "They're getting acquainted." 

"Does that give us some time together?", she asks as her hand slowly rises from the tub and gently touches Charles' neck. 

"Yes, my love," he replies, as he slowly leans forward to kiss her. 

Some say true love is the place where two minds meet and discover that they cannot live without each other. It could not be a more accurate description than the meeting of the minds of Monet St. Croix and Charles Xavier Lehnscherr, for their minds meet in places that even most mutants could never comprehend. 

"Hi, Charles." 

The five-year-old boy interrupts the building of his castle in the white sands of the beach to see the young dark-skinned girl in the bathing suit waving at him. 

"Hi, Monet," he replies. "Wanna help me build my castle?" 

"Sure." 

The sun sits lonely in the bright blue sky, shining down upon the two children building their pretend home. Waves fall gently on the shore, while tropical birds fly above them, their calls echoing across the water. As the castle slowly becomes a formidable fortess, Charles takes a moment to look out at the deep blue water stretched in front of him. 

"How far does the ocean go out?", asks Charles. 

"To there, silly," says Monet, pointing at the edge of the water, where it meets the sky. 

"Hey!", yells Charles, "You called me silly!" He begins to chase a giggling Monet around the castle. Eventually, he catches up to her, and they play wrestle for a few moments until they land in the middle of the castle. Pieces of watered-down sand scatter and collapse as the children laugh and catch their breath. 

"Charles, can we be the king and queen of the castle?" 

"We built the castle, Monet. We have to be king and queen." 

"And can we have a big huge wedding?" 

"The biggest, hugest ever." 

"And will you love me forever and ever, King Charles?" 

"Forever and ever, Queen Monet." 

They hug each other and slowly ease toward a kiss, when a knock on the slightly open door interrupts them. 

"Oh," says an alarmed Caitlin, dressed in her Gen-13 uniform. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything." 

"It's okay," says Charles. "Please come in." 

Caitlin smiles nervously as she walks in and sits opposite Charles on the floor. "Everett sends his apologies for your injuries," she says to Monet. "He and Jubilee weren't expecting the debris to hurt you." 

"Tell him I accept his apology," Monet replies, "and that I will be fine." 

"I will," says Caitlin. "Your team is very impressive, by the way. You all really handled those robots like pros." 

"Well, Monet did," Charles replies. "I was stunned briefly by the appearance of the robots. My father had fought along side them before, and to see them fighting against us was...well, something of a shock." 

"Do you know your father very well?", says Caitlin. 

"I knew him quite a bit, actually," he says, his father's memories suddenly playing back in his mind. "He was a very strong, very loving man." 

"You're lucky," she replies. "I barely remember anything about my father." 

"Really?", says Charles. "How come?" 

"He left for Vietnam when I was just a baby," Caitlin says, "and he never came back. I had given up trying to find him when I graduated from high school, but after I became a part of Gen-13, I heard that he was still alive. Now part of me just can't stop thinking about him -- what he's like, where he is, what he's doing, how he got to where he is now, wherever that is. It just gnaws upon me sometimes, you know?" 

"Yes," Charles says, "I do." 

"Do you know where your father is now?", says Caitlin. 

"Yes...well, no..." Charles stumbles to find the right words to say. "I don't know if I can explain this in a way you could understand it. I'm still trying to come to terms with it myself." 

"Would it help if I explained it?", asks Monet. 

"I think it would, love," says Charles. 

"You see, Caitlin," she begins, "Charles is from an alternate world." 

"You mean, he's an alien being?", says Caitlin. 

"No, he's from Earth," she continues, "just from a different Earth. There was a disturbance in time about 20 years ago that created a parallel timeline to our world. In that timeline, Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men, didn't exist. He died while saving the life of Magneto, who at the time was still Xavier's friend. Magneto, in turn, decided to carry on Xavier's dream and formed the X-Men on his own." 

"The world I came from was dark and merciless," says Charles. His tone turns somber. "Apocalypse ruled with an iron fist, crushing everything that opposed him. But he could not break my father. He was the one that eventually defeated Apocalypse." 

"So...your father is...Magneto?", says Caitlin. 

"Not the Magneto you know," says Monet. "The Magneto in that world saw Charles Xavier give up his life to save him. He was changed forever." 

"Wait a minute," says Caitlin. "If that event twenty years ago changed Magneto's life, how come Magneto's still the Malcolm X of mutants?" 

"Well...because that event never really happened," says Charles. "My father discovered a man named Bishop, who told us about this world where we are now. My father believed him, and he sent his X-Men on one last mission to ensure that the timeline would be fixed and this world would survive." 

"Whoa," says Caitlin, rubbing her chin. "This all sounds very cosmic and surreal." 

"Well, I guess it is," says Charles. 

"So after the timeline was fixed," Caitlin asks, "how did you get to this world?" 

Charles sighs, as if to steel himself to tell this part of the story. "My father defeated Apocalypse while the timeline was being fixed. At the same time, however, Apocalypse started a full-scale nuclear war, and the planet was destroyed. My father, mother and I embraced each other in our world's final moments and watched as all we knew was annihilated. Just before we all died, though, my brother pulled me away from them and threw me into this giant crystal, which somehow transported me to this world." 

"Oh, wow," says Caitlin sympathetically. "You lost everything, didn't you?" She reaches out to touch his hand, but he immediately pulls it away. 

"Please, no," he says, then he immediately stops himself. "I'm sorry. It's just that one of my mutant abilities is to read other people's memories with skin-to-skin contact. I'm a little apprehensive about touching other people, aside from Monet." 

"I understand," says Caitlin. "I just feel terrible for you. I mean, here I am whining over my missing father, and you..." 

"Yes," says Charles as he bows his head, "so much has been taken away from me...including my childhood." 

"Childhood?", says Caitlin. 

"A confrontation with an evil mutant named Mr. Sinister transformed him into what he is now," says Monet. 

"What was he before?", asks Caitlin. 

"I was only two-and-a-half when the world was destroyed and my father died," says Charles. "I was five when I came to this world." 

Caitlin's jaw drops. "What are you now?" 

"I guess I'm about seventeen or so," says Charles. "I really have no way of knowing." 

Caitlin's stares in shock as she runs her fingers through her hair. "So in essence," she says, "you've only been alive for about three years." 

"You could say that," says Charles. 

Caitlin looks at Monet and grins. "And you don't feel like you're robbing the cradle?" 

"Let's just say Charles is very mature for his age," she replies as she takes his hand in hers. 

Caitlin watches as Charles and Monet gaze into each other's eyes. Perhaps it is the strangest teenage love affair in the world, but she can tell just from their look that it is real, and she has no right to tell them otherwise. Besides, Charles has lost too much to live in this world by himself. 

"I think I'll leave you two alone," she says as she gets up from the floor. "If you feel well enough, Monet, feel free to stop by the grotto. Both our teams are down there, and we'll be practicing later." 

"Thank you, Caitlin," says Monet. "We will join you shortly." 

She stops for a moment before she walks out, then turns back to Monet. "Before I go," she says, "I have to know -- how did you figure out that override code for those robots?" 

"Part of my power is the ability to analyze electronic machinery almost instantly," Monet replies. "In fact, I'm still upset that I took so long to uncover that particular code." 

"Any chance you could teach that to me sometime?", says Caitlin. "I have had the worst trouble configuring some new hardware on my PC." 

"I'll see what I can do." 

"Thanks." 

As Caitlin exits the room, she turns back for a second to look at Monet and Charles. She smiles slightly as she watches them kiss, then turns and leaves. 

"She's a good person," says Charles. 

"Indeed," says Monet. "Strength, intelligence, compassion -- it is good that she is here with us." 

"Maybe one day we should help her find her father." 

"Perhaps. But that is for another day, my love." 

They slowly lean into each other to kiss again... 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE FIFTH -- TEAMWORK 

"All right, kiddies, playtime is over. We have a mutual enemy here that is very dangerous, and we have t'find out what we all can do to beat him. The drill is simple -- ye all know yuir teams. You may begin at the sound of the horn." 

As Banshee's voice echos throughout the danger grotto, Rainmaker, Skin and Jubilee duck behind some bushes to hide from the rest of their teammates. 

"I don't know about this," Rainmaker says. "Are we really going to accomplish anything by kicking each other's butts?" 

"Just drill and practice, Se¤orita," Skin replies. "Besides, since we're teammates in this battle, I'll guarantee you that we'll be doing all the ass-kicking today." 

"Oh, really?", says Rainmaker, "and why is that?" 

"Trust me, chica," he replies, making a fist and doubling its size with his distended skin, "nobody messes with the Grandmaster of Fly." 

Rainmaker casts a look at Skin that wipes the smile off of his face. "Harsh," Jubilee says under her breath as the horn sounds. The three immediately duck down as a silent wave of psionic energy comes crashing over them. 

"So are you guys in this or what?", shouts Burnout. He flies over to Chamber and fires a plasma blast directly at his chest. Chamber loses his balance and drops back on one knee to keep from falling. 

"Big mistake," shouts Husk, who emerges from the tree in metallic form and begins to wrestle with Burnout. As he tries to set her aflame, she begins to glow a bright red. 

"What the...", spits Burnout. 

"Tungsten," replies Husk, "that filament in your light bulbs. Say goodnight, firefly." 

"Don't bet on it!" Rainmaker showers Husk with lighting bolts, turning Husk a dazzling white, effectively blinding Burnout, and pulling Husk off him and leaving her lying unconscious on the ground. 

"Bitch!", shouts Chamber, who gets up and sticks out his chest toward Rainmaker, when a large strip of skin wraps itself around Chamber's head. 

"Don't think so, hombre," replies Skin. In less than a second, however, the skin is pulled off of Chamber's eyes and lands with a thud on the floor. 

"T'anks, Perk," says Chamber as he drops Skin quickly. 

"Grandmaster of Fly, indeed," says Rainmaker, who emerges from behind a bush and takes Jono out with another blast. "Take that, freak!" 

"What did she call him?", thinks Jubilee to herself. "And I'm teammates with this girl?" This distraction gives Perkolater more than enough time to trip Jubilee and knock her on her back. 

"Hey!", she shouts as she lets off sparks all around Perkolater. "What's up with that sneaky stuff?" 

"Chill, girl," replies Perkolater, who quickly darts into the woods. Jubilee follows behind, only to be pulled away as she runs by Fairchild. 

"Bad move, Jubilee," she says. She puts a chokehold on Jubilee, who passes out seconds later. Penance watches frightened from the underbrush. 

"I thought we got her out of there," says Emma in the control room. 

"So did I," says Banshee. "How did th'lass get back in there?" 

As Fairchild looks over the unconscious Jubilee, she feels a finger tapping on her shoulder. She turns around to find Grunge leaning against a tree, his molecules bonded with the bark. 

"What's up, C?", he says, a sly grin on his face. Fairchild has no time to react to the giant that flies right through Grunge and tackles her hard by the waist. 

"The element of distraction," says Mondo as he lay on top of the spread-eagle redhead. "Nice job, eh, Grunge?" 

"You said it, Mondo," he replies. 

"Then y'won' mind this su'prise," says Jono as he fires at both Grunge and Mondo. Grunge is pulled hard from the tree and lands on the grass, but Mondo manages to metamorph with the psionic energy emerging from Chamber, and he immediate flows up to his would-be teammate and pushes him through a set of bushes and into another tree. Jono slumps to the ground as Mondo returns to his normal self. 

"Sorry, my friend," he says to him. 

"Sorry, indeed," says Freefall, as he lifts Mondo from the ground and leaves him floating in mid-air. "Whooaaaa!", he shouts. 

"Yeah," she replies, "can't be morphin' time when your floating in mid-air out of control, huh?" 

"Need a hand?", asks Synch. 

"Where you been?", replies Freefall as Synch wraps his rainbow- colored aura around her. 

"Pacing myself," he says. "Check it out, though -- world's largest yo-yo." 

Synch raises his hand toward Mondo, only to watch as four giant bubbles, similar to Freefall's gravity bubbles, fly from his hand at bullet-like speeds and ram Mondo against the wall of the grotto. 

"What the hell was that?", Freefall asks Synch. 

"I don't know," he replies, looking more surprised that she does. "I've never synched with a Gen-active before. I don't know quite how I'll react --" 

The lighting flash above him interrupts his train of thought, not to mention pulls a branch from a tree and forces Freefall out of the sky. She manages to land in Perkolater's arms and quickly regain her balance. 

"Yo," says Perkolater, "Let's be audi." 

They all run for cover as another lightning bolt barely misses their heads and explodes in another tree in front of them. As they find a place to hide, Rainmaker walks calmly out into the open, her hands shooting electrical energy and huge gusts of wind everywhere. 

"Come on out, people -- and others," she shouts, shaking trees and blowing leaves in every direction. "It may be one on three, but I'm not going down without a fight." 

Freefall grits her teeth and grimaces. "Oh, I'd love to take it to her." 

"Why's that?", says Perkolater as he pulls at a hard plastic straw on his shoulder and drinks from it. 

"You don't know what she did to Bobby," she replies. "One of the nicest guys I've ever known, and she walked all over him." 

"No kidding," says Synch as he leans toward Perkolater. "Let me get that straw for a sec, Perk." He turns the straw toward Synch, who pulls from it, swallows, and begins to synch with Perkolater. 

"Jump in, Roxy," he replies. "I'm gonna show you a little trick Perk and I learned the other day." 

Another lightning bolt slams into the tree above them. "This better be good," says Freefall. 

Both Synch and Perkolater begin to use the caffeine in their systems to slow time, and they watch as a branch falls from a tree in extreme slow motion. 

"Now!" 

In the blink of an eye, the threesome emerges from the makeshift shelter and stands to the side of Rainmaker. As she turns toward them, Synch draws his aura back within himself, and Freefall lifts Rainmaker from the ground and prepares to drop her on her head. Before she can land, however, Synch spreads his aura toward Freefall, and fires off a stream of bullet-like gravity bubbles, the first of which slams Rainmaker in the back and throws her toward the control room. 

"Take cover!", shouts Banshee. 

Rainmaker plows through the plate glass window and flips over as the shattered shards of glass fly in every direction. Banshee, Emma, Artie and Leech all duck out of the way the best they can, and Rainmaker lands on her back at the opposite edge of the room. 

"Will that do?", says Synch. 

"I think so," replies Freefall. 

Artie looks worriedly at Emma, creating a psionic hologram of a coffin with Rainmaker inside. 

"Don't worry, Artie," she says. "The girl's still alive." 

The door to the control room opens, and Manchild walks in donning his red Gen X uniform. "Hi, everyone," he says. "Did I miss much?" He looks around the control room to see the hole in the window and the glass scattered everywhere. 

"Nae really," replies Banshee. 

--- 

Husk groans as she rises from the ground. "Do you need any help, Paige?", says the blurry figure above her. 

"Oh, hi, M," she replies. "I feel a little warm, but I'll be okay. How are you, by the way?" 

"Better, thank you," says M. "Don't form any skin just yet, however." 

"Why not?" 

"Just pretend you won the Super Bowl," says Perkolater, as he and Synch pour a large bucket of ice water over her metallic body. She grimaces as the water immediately sizzles and turns to steam, rising to the ceiling. This is the sight that greets Chamber as he looks up from the ground. 

"Whoa," says Burnout. "That your girl?" 

"Yeah," says Chamber. They both watch for a moment as Husk turns the ice cubes into steam and brushes whatever water is left off her body. 

"You're one lucky guy," Burnout replies. 

"Lucky? Luck had nothing to do with it," says Jubilee, who walks up to them from behind. "Ol' Yorkshire Pudding here just knows how to handle his hayseeds. Don't ya, Jono?" 

"Piss off, Jube," says Chamber. "I'm just some plonker without a face." 

Meanwhile, Synch jogs over to check on Fairchild, who is waking up near the middle of the grotto. Mondo joins him. 

"You okay, Caitlin?", say Synch, holding out his hand to her. 

"I think so," she says, taking his hand but turning her attention to Mondo. "You pack quite a wallop, big guy." 

"I didn't mean to hurt you," Mondo replies, "but that was part of the game." 

"What are you worried about?", says Synch as he pulls her up. "This is the strongest woman in the grotto. You didn't even scratch her." 

Fairchild looks suspiciously at Synch. "Are you trying to butter me up?" 

"Of course not," replies Synch, "I'm not into that stuff." 

She cocks a brow at his reply. "Oh, really? And what are you into?" Synch shows off a sly grin, which she returns. 

"Whoa!" Without warning, Mondo pushes his palm into her chest and through her back. 

"What the --", Fairchild says. Synch looks behind her to see Penance falling backward from the force of Mondo's palm. 

"Penance," shouts Mondo, "what are you doing!?" 

Synch quickly grabs Fairchild by the waist and pulls her out of the way as Penance rises to attack Mondo. Her eyes turn a fluorescent orange as she lunges at him and slashes his chest. Mondo's power stops most of her action, but not before she draws a small trickle of blood from his chest. 

"Penny!", shouts Jubilee. "What's gotten into you?" 

"I have, X-Man!" Penance's lips move, but the resonant voice that comes from her mouth is that of a man. A psionic onslaught causes Jubilee to fall to her knees screaming. 

"This ends now!", shouts Emma Frost from the control room. She quickly enters her mind, only to find the horrifyingly powerful presence of someone else. 

"There are some places, Emma Frost," the telepathic voice says, "where you don't belong." Emma proceeds to groan and pass out from another psychic attack, while Penance spreads her arms out and floats into the air, turning her attention to Freefall, Burnout and Fairchild. 

"Hear me, students of Xavier!", the voice shouts. "If you are looking for your teacher, you need look no further, for I have captured him, and I alone shall lead him, and you, to your final end. Your demise shall atone for the sins of Charles Xavier and his blasphemous X-Men. In the name of the high lord Magneto, ye shall all perish!" 

"Magneto???" Manchild quickly flies through the window toward the floating Penance. "You dare speak of my father!?!?" 

He puts his hands around her neck in mid-air, setting off his mutant powers. He sees two simultaneous images -- one of Penance being captured by a strange, powerful creature he's never seen before, and another, more powerful image of a powerful young mutant holding both the X-Men and the Avengers hostage in the midst of the rubble of Genosha. This powerful mutant holds in his hands a girl named Luna -- the daughter of Quicksilver. 

"Paris!", Manchild shouts frantically. "What are you doing!?" 

Penance immediately slips her arms between his and pushes them away, causing them both to land hard to the grass below. The rest of the groups quickly run to their aid. 

"Charles!", M and Freefall shout simultaneously as they fly over to him. 

"Ohhhhhh," moans Charles, his hands bleeding. "It's him. I can't believe he's here..." 

"Who, Charles," says Banshee, who flies down to him. "Who was that?" 

Charles cannot speak and tries to catch his breath. As he does, Penance slowly crawls over to him. 

"Ch-charles?", she stutters, her voice rougher than the broken glass in the control room. "A-are you ok-k-kay?" 

All of the Generation X students stare at her in amazement. 

"Penny?", says Jubilee. "You're speaking English?" 

"Y-y-yes," says Penance. "I...I..." 

Frightened by her sudden ability to understand everyone around her, she jumps up and scatters into the broken landscape of the biosphere. 

"Penance!", shouts Banshee. "Wait!" Both he and Jubilee go after her as the rest of the crowd watches. 

--- 

As her eyes adjust to the artificial light of the control room, Rainmaker looks up to see two strange figures looking at her -- one of them a bug-eyed boy with no hair, the other a green, almost alien-like visage. 

"Is girl okay?", the green figure says. 

"Get AWAY from me!", she says, rising up to push them both out of the way. She shifts her sneer from one to the other, until she notices the expression of fear on the green one's face. 

"Leech is sorry," he says. "Please don't hurt Leech." 

She turns to she Artie creating a psionic hologram of himself on his knees, begging for forgiveness. Rainmaker buries her head in her hands. 

--- 

"Poor girl," says Grunge. "She looked so scared." 

"She's never spoken English before," says Jono. "She's supposedly Croatian." 

"Something happened while I was touching her," says Charles, rubbing his hands together and creating a small magnetic field around them. "Somehow, some of the psychic residue wore off from both myself and Paris. It broke the language barrier." 

"Perhaps Jubilee won't need that program anymore," says Mondo. Monet casts a steely glance at him. "She won't need what?" 

"Charles," says Fairchild. "Tell us again, who was it that you saw in her mind?" 

"His name is Paris," he replies. "My father found him a year after I was born. I don't remember much about him, except that he had an incredible amount of potential as a mutant. It seems a lot of that power has been realized in this timeline." 

"Paris?", says Synch. "Paris who?" 

"Not many people know his name here," Charles replies. "He calls himself...Exodus." 

Several gasps can be heard among the Xavier School students. 

"And for some reason," he says to the Gen-13 group, "he's after you." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE SIXTH -- CALM BEFORE THE STORM 

"I feared this day would come. Exodus is an exceedingly powerful mutation. I shall prepare the X-Men at once." 

Charles Xavier's face upon the giant screen is at once imposing and benevolent. He remembers all too well that it took the combined cunning of the X-Men and the Avengers to defeat Exodus in Genosha, and his return greatly disturbs him. 

Banshee, Emma, Manchild and Fairchild sit in front of the giant monitor, some of them in disagreement with the X-Men's founder. 

"With all due respect, Professor Xavier," says Fairchild, "we appreciate your help, but this is Gen-13's battle. John Lynch is *our* professor, and with a little help, we have effectively overcome every obstacle Exodus has thrown at us. I've read the scouting reports the X- Men prepared, as well. Call it overconfidence if you will, but we believe we can take Exodus out, and we WILL rescue Mr. Lynch." 

"I applaud your positive outlook on this, Caitlin," replies Xavier, "but I'm afraid I can't let you risk your lives against a near- omnipotent opponent." 

"Ummmm...Mr. Xavier?" Manchild sits pensively in his chair, in awe of the mere appearance of the man for whom he was named. 

"Yes, Charles?", Xavier replies. 

"I...I had a chance to look into Paris' mind," Manchild says quietly, "when he was inside of Penance...and, um, I didn't sense the kind of power...that you're describing." 

"Really?", says Xavier, whose tone remains genuine. "What did you sense, Charles?" 

"A lot of, um...confusion," replies Manchild. "It is as if something has...scrambled his thoughts..." 

"Which may be why he is chasing Gen-13," says Emma, "especially when they're in the presence of the real Xavier School students. He is, after all, plotting his revenge on you." 

"Charles," says Banshee, "I seem to remember from the fall of Avalon reports that Exodus was doing battle with another creature -- someone that had something t'do with Apocalypse. Ye donnae suppose that this battle may have left Exodus a bit daft, do ye?" 

"Hmmmm...it's entrely possible," replies Xavier. "Still, Exodus' power could be nearly as insurmountable as before, and both of your teams are still inexperienced." 

"In comparison to the X-Men, yes," says Fairchild, "but you've never had to go up against Ivana and her million goon march, and the kids here have battled no less than Mr. Sinister. We know you're looking out for us, but speaking for everyone in Gen-13 -- we want this one. Badly." 

Xavier sighs. Youth can be so impetuous, and yet, he senses that Fairchild just might be on to something. "I would never forgive myself should something terrible happen." 

"You won't have to, sir," replies Fairchild. 

Xavier's pause builds the tension in the room. "Okay," he says, "but in case something should happen, I shall have the X-Men standing ready to assist you." 

"Not to worry, Charles," says Emma. "Sean and I will accompany both teams on this mission, and I will try to stay in touch with you psionically." 

Fairchild's smile stretches across her face. "Thank you so much, Professor." 

"Oh, and Charles?", says Xavier. Manchild immediately lifts his head toward the screen in surprise. 

"Y-yes, Mr. Xavier?", he says. 

"We have not had the chance to talk," Xavier replies. "Please come and visit the mansion after you return from this mission." 

"Oh, uh...sure," says Manchild, both startled and elated. "I certainly will, sir." 

"I look forward to it," Xavier replies. "Good luck, my friends." 

The monitor goes blank, darkening the room. 

"What do ye think, lad?", says Banshee. 

Manchild closes his eyes and slowly takes a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "Seeing him there, alive...", he begins. "It goes against every single memory burned into my mind. I can still see him sacrificing his life to save my father's. And yet, talking to him...his presence just looms over you." 

"He's a pied piper," says Emma. "He can make anyone believe in his dream. It may be the only reason I'm here." 

"It's so amazing, though," says Manchild, "how one man can mean so much to the world." 

"I know what ye mean, laddie," says Banshee. "I know what ye mean." 

--- 

A flick of the switch, and the bathroom light comes on, revealing an impeccable black marble finish on just about everything from the walls to the sink. 

"The White Queen's black bathroom," Paige mutters to herself. "I may never get used to that." 

As she hangs up her robe on the door, revealing her knee-length Kentucky basketball shirt underneath, she hears a strange noise from behind the shower curtain. Immediately, she tenses up and slowly tiptoes to the curtain, throwing it open in a swift motion. 

There in the bathtub sits Sarah Rainmaker, her head resting on her arms, which wrap her knees. Paige notices that she's crying. 

"Are you okay?", she says. 

"I have no pride," Sarah replies, her head still down. "I have become the enemy of my people." 

Paige relaxes, sitting down on the floor in front of the tub. She remembers that this is the girl who, a few moments earlier, not only turned her lights out, but called her boyfriend a freak. "Wanna talk about it?", she says. 

Sarah lifts her head, the trails of her tears still clear on her face. "The Apache have been persecuted all our lives," she says, "our spirits nearly broken by white men and their fallacy of progress and manifest destiny. They have taken our land, our culture, our lives, and spit upon it all, and now, I have done the same." 

"Why's that?", says Paige. 

"Fear," Sarah replies. "Fear of mutants." 

Paige turns her head slightly, her eyes remaining fixed on the girl in the tub. "You mean...you're..." 

"A bigot," Sarah replies, "as bigoted as the white man that stole our land, and I feel nothing but shame for it." She pauses to catch her breath. "I have tossed the word 'mutant' around like it was a plague upon the planet. All this time I believed that we as Gen-actives and SPBs were truly special people, while mutants were an abomination, all of them crazed, demented freaks with genetic disorders that automatically make them outcasts. Now I know..." 

"Know what?", says Paige. 

"We're no different," Sarah replies, "no different at all." 

Sarah looks straight into Paige's eyes, surprised at the amount of compassion she sees there. 

"It's okay, Sarah," replies Paige. "We've all made mistakes in our lives. It's good that you're coming to terms with it now. It's not like you're like Graydon Creed or Bolivar Trask, standing up and preaching hatred to everyone they see --" 

"No, Paige," Sarah interrupts. "There is no difference to me. We both are filled with fear and prejudice, and that affects everything and everyone around us." She sighs desperately, reaching out her hand and wrapping it around Paige's wrist. "Oh, Paige, can you and your teammates ever forgive me?" 

"Relax, Sarah," replies Paige, who calmly takes Sarah's hand in hers. "You were weak. It happens. You'll be okay. It's not like this is the Ricki Lake show and you have to tell the world. You'll be fine." 

Sarah struggles through a gracious smile. "Thank you," she whispers. 

"Oh, so THAT'S how it's goin' down." 

Both Sarah and Paige turn around to see Roxanne walk in the doorway, a scowl on her face, wearing bicycle shorts and a black T-shirt with the Bad Boy Records logo printed in white on its front. 

"You'll open yourself up to any strange girl you meet," says Roxanne, "but when it comes to your friends, you're emotionally five thousand on us." 

"Roxanne, please," begs Sarah. 

"Step off with that!", commands Roxanne. "I haven't forgotten what you did to Bobby in Italy the last time we were in this situation." 

"Hold up, Roxy," says Paige, "What are you talking about?" 

"Little miss weather girl here spent the whole night on the town draping Bobby on her shoudlers -- one of the nicest guys in the world, then dumped him on his ass in the morning. They were in her hotel room the whole night doing God-knows-what, and then poof! See ya later, Burnout, baby. I got all I need from you." 

Roxanne casts a look of mock concern on Paige. "Better be careful, Paige. You might be next." 

Paige's jaw drops in astonishment of Roxy's remark. She looks back at Sarah, who tries to hold back from sobbing any more than she has. She looks back and forth at the two young women, one of them emotionally distraught, the other lashing out uncontrollably. 

"You know," Paige says as she gets up, "I was wrong. Maybe this is The Ricki Lake Show." Roxanne suddenly stares blankly as Paige grabs her robe and opens the door to leave. "Try living in a world that fears and hates you for a while," she says. "Maybe then you won't fear and hate each other so much." 

Roxanne and Sarah both stare in shock as Paige shuts the door behind her. 

--- 

Everett Thomas stands in the middle of the kitchen rubbing his chin, baffled as ever by the powers his mutagenic aura is creating for him. He wraps it around Grunge, who sits at the table wolfing down a large, greasy hoagie, then points his hand at a chair, which suddenly bonds with the linoleum on the surface of the floor. 

"Splendid, amigo," says Angelo, sitting at the table across from Grunge. "You've created the first no-wax kitchen chair." 

"File this under J for 'Just plain weird', Ange," says Everett. "This should NOT be happening." 

"What usually happens, homie?", says Grunge. 

"I should be getting the exact same power you have," replies Everett, "the ability to bond my molecules with whatever surface I touch. Yet when I synch with you, I find myself doing that with other objects." 

"Maybe that's an advantage," says Bobby, who walks in holding a can of soda and leans against the counter. "It gives you a power that nobody else here has. Grunge could bond himself with other items, but he couldn't bond that chair to that floor, nor keep it there after he stopped using his power." 

"Can you put it back?", says Angelo. Everett keeps his aura around Grunge and returns the chair to normal. He walks over to it and lifts it off the floor to be sure. 

"I guess so," he replies. 

"Cool," says Grunge, his mouth filled with a large bite of his sandwich. "You know, it may just be that we're not really mutants, and that's why your powers are acting funny." 

"Maybe," says Everett, "but if you're not mutants, I shouldn't be getting any powers from you at all." 

"Hell, as much as we were experimented on, not to mention our parents," says Bobby, "we've probably mutated as much as any of you guys." 

"I wouldn't bet the farm on that," says Angelo. 

"Yo, Ev," says Grunge, who lets out a loud belch after taking a big gulp of soda, "try doing your rainbow thing on Bobby." 

Everett spreads his aura toward Bobby, and almost instantly, small puffs of dark grey smoke bellow from his hands. 

"Check it out, yo," says Everett. "I can be a secret character on Mortal Kombat now." Everyone else in the room chuckles, while Everett raises his arms in mock battle. "Take that, Shao Khan!", he yells, blowing smoke throughout the room. Bobby chokes and laughs at the same time as he ducks out of the way. 

"You know, amigo," says Angelo, "with all that smoke in here, you'll probably set off the--" 

Angelo is interrupted as all four young men freeze in their positions, sprays of water soaking them and everything else in the kitchen. 

"--sprinkler system." 

"Man, and I was almost done with this hoagie, too," says Grunge. 

"Yo, guys, you got any..." 

Perkolater walks down wearing a New Jersey Devils T-shirt and sweatpants, catching a glimpse of the foursome in the kitchen being drenched by the sprinklers... 

--- 

"Fire alarm going off in the boys dorm," says Sean, looking at a control panel by his desk. 

"Go back to sleep, Irish," says Emma, putting on her robe as she emerges from the bedroom. "False alarm." 

"Ye sure about that?", replies Sean. 

"Positive. I don't sense anyone in any danger, just a lot of general embarassment -- except for Rayquan, who seems to be enjoying himself at everyone else's expense." 

A knock on the door surprises them both. Sean opens it and sees Fairchild standing there in a full-length trenchcoat. 

"Ye alright, lass?", asks Sean. 

"I'm fine, Mr. Cassidy," she replies. "I was wondering if we could talk for a moment." 

"Certainly," he replies. "Come in." 

"Mr. Cassidy," she says as she walks into the room, "what can you tell me about...Magneto?" 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE SEVENTH -- A KNOCK AT THE DOOR 

It's not really the sun, and it's not really the great outdoors, but at the moment, Mondo doesn't really care. He's just enjoying the down time. 

"Never met a bloke who could relax anywhere like dat," says Jono, leaning against a tree as Mondo relaxes in a beach chair. "I envy dat about ye, Mondo." 

"Why?", says Mondo. "I mean, what's the point in stressing out? If you can't relax and enjoy the simple things in life, your life will be a mess." 

Mondo pulls a bottle of orange juice out of his knee and sips from the straw coming out of the top. "It's like with you and Paige," he continues. "Have you looked at her lately? She's gorgeous. You ought to be jumping up and down that the two of you are finally together." 

"Yeah, but have y'looked at me lately?", says Jono. 

"Dude, get over yourself," replies Mondo. "She loves you. You ought to be with her right now. This isn't a bad place for making out, you know." 

Jono gives Mondo the skunk-eye. "What?", says Mondo. "You've got all that energy in your chest. Do something with it. Try making some psionic lips or something." 

"Psionic lips?", says Jono irritatedly. 

"Just a suggestion," says Mondo. "Don't blow your top or anything." 

Jono gets up and leaves in a huff as Mondo continues to sip from his bottle. "Could be worse, you know," Mondo says as Jono leaves. "She could be thousands of miles away from you right now." As he sips, he looks to his left and spots Leech sitting on the grass, pen in hand, a notebook on his knee. 

"'Allo, Leech," says Mondo. "Whatcha doin'?" 

"Leech writing letter to friend with X-Men," the young Morlock replies. "Friend could use some cheering up." 

"Who's your friend?" 

"Friend called Skids," says Leech. "Miss Grey tell me Skids is very depressed." 

"How come?" 

"Skids' and Leech's friend Rusty died in space. Rusty was Artie's friend, too. Artie miss Rusty very much." 

Mondo's wide smile narrows a bit. "Sorry to hear that. How long have you known them?" 

"Ever since Miss Grey and X-Factor rescued Leech from Morlock tunnels. Rusty and Skids really liked each other. Miss Grey says Rusty and Skids got lost in shuffle. Leech hope to cheer Skids up with letter. Leech's writing has gotten much better. See?" 

Leech holds up the notebook so Mondo can see the writing. The letters are big and misshapen, and several words are mispelled. 

"Looking good, Leech," says Mondo, giving the youngster a thumbs up signal. "You'll be writing like a pro real soon." 

As Mondo puts his drink back in his knee, he sees Jubilee walking into the grotto. "Figures you'd be in here soaking in rays that don't exist," she says to Mondo. 

"'Allo, Jubilee," Mondo replies. "Orange juice?" 

"Not now, thanks," she says. "You seen Penny?" 

Mondo shakes his head as they both spot her peeking out from the blackened bush to Mondo's right. 

"Funny thing when you set that bush on fire last night," says Mondo. "For a minute, I thought I was Moses." 

"Yeah, God was talking to me, all right," Jubilee replies. "'Jubilee, this is the Lord your God. You suck today. Go back to bed.'" 

She offers a slight smile at Jubilee's joke, then slowly crawls out from behind the bush, stopping at the edge of Mondo's chair. Jubilee sits down across from her on the ground. 

"How ya feelin', Penny?", says Jubilee. 

"I...I f-feel b-better...Thhhhank you," she replies, her voice as coarse as ever. Jubilee smiles. 

"How does it feel to finally understand what we're saying?", asks Mondo. 

"V-very...strange," she replies. "I c-can't unders-st-tand how it h-hap-penned." 

"Well, we're all glad it did," replies Mondo. 

"'Cept for Monet," says Jubilee. "She was all torqued off that she pulled an all-nighter to write that translator, and now it's all for nothing. You should have heard her go off on me back that the dorm." 

She leans toward Jubilee to get her attention. "T...t-t-tell her...tha...th-thhhank you." 

Jubilee and Mondo glance at each other for a moment and smile, confident that things are finally looking up for their mutual friend. "Say, Penance," says Mondo. "Do you MIND if we called you Penance? I mean, we never really learned your real name or anything." 

"Thhhat's ok-kay. I...I l-like...P-pennnance." She looks back at Jubilee. "Or p-penny." 

Jubilee carefully leans into Penance, rests her chin low on the girl's tightly wrapped shoulder, and carefully hugs her, making sure her arms avoid the long, sharp locks of hair. Penance slowly returns the hug, careful not to touch Jubilee with her fingers. 

Mondo sighs. "Always the odd man out in these Kodak moments. Oh, well." He pulls the orange juice bottle out of his knee and quickly finishes it off. 

"Get in here, ya big lug," says Jubilee, waving him toward her. 

--- 

The nightmare is still the same, only this time more vivid than ever. Charles Xavier Lehnscherr jolts up from his bed, his sheets soaked, his throat parched, his head throbbing from the visions that continue to haunt him -- the rivers of blood and broken bones, the experimentation on living creatures for sport, the bloodhounds and prelates pushing forward, always closing in on him, his father, his friends. 

"Your mind is an anomaly..." 

The voice is barely audible in his mind, but he feels its presence loud and clear. 

"Such violence, yet such hope. How can you live with so much confusion?" 

Charles closes his eyes and tries to reach out to that presence in his mind, hoping to make contact with whatever is calling him. Yet all he sees are broken images, puzzle pieces of a mind not quite all there. 

"One could say the same for you, my friend," Charles answers the voice. "Your mind feels as broken as the world from which I came." 

"What is this world?", the voice continues. "What delusional mind could envision all this?" 

"This, my friend," Charles replies, "is mutant supremacy. It is what my father fought to destroy." 

"Preposterous!", the voice shouts. "How can he be your father? I am more of a son to him than you are." 

"He has treated you like a son, though, hasn't he?", Charles returns. "Did he not come to you in your darkest hour and take you under his wing?" 

There is no reply. 

"I understand that this world where we exist now is so much different than the Age of Apocalypse," Charles continues, "but take a look around you. What is it that makes your lord so different than my father?" 

"A fallacy," the voice says, "that there will be peace between us. We shall never be given justice in a human society. They shall always look upon us with fear, contempt, jealousy --" 

"And why do you think that is?", Charles replies. "You have entered my mind. Take a good look at what you see here." 

It is no coincidence that within moments, both minds eventually come to rest on the same image -- a man made of bones and fire, destroying everything in his path, from single people to entire cities. 

"No." The faint voice begins to panic. "NOOOO!!!" 

Charles jumps out of the bed and stands by the window, hoping to find what he saw earlier in Penance's mind. "Paris!", he calls to the voice, "What's happening?" 

"Butcher!", the suddenly tortured voice calls out. "Blasphemer! I am no X-Man! Why must you fight me?" 

Charles can feel the fear as the images of the fall of Avalon coarse through his mind. "Let go of it, Paris!", yells Charles. "Holocaust is gone! We're still here! Don't let it get to you! Fight it, Paris!" 

"You!", the voice commands to Charles. "You dare attack me with the evil that tortures me so relentlessly! Who are you to be so arrogant with me, child?" 

"Paris," Charles returns, "I'm trying to help --" 

"LIAR!", the voice resounds. Charles falls to his knees in pain. "You trick me into curiosity, then display such brazen contempt toward the power I possess. You can only be an instrument of he who wishes to destroy me. Only he would dare utter the name of Exodus! Now he, like you, shall bear witness to my wrath!" 

As Charles screams and falls forward into his hands, the window above him is smashed, and Monet quickly reaches down and puts her hand on his neck, then into his shirt, desparately trying to touch as much of his skin as possible. 

"You can't have him!", she shouts. "I won't let you take him!" 

Monet grits her teeth and pulls Charles as close to him as possible. Within moments, the struggle ends, and Exodus' psychic presense is purged from Charles' mind. They both lean against the wall in a crumpled heap, Monet in a deep trance, Charles hyperventilating from the fight. 

"Monet?" 

The young boy walks across the deserted landscape, stepping over the charred remains of bones jutting from the soft clay ground. He sees the teenage girl in her uniform, her long black locks swaying gently in the breeze, walking up to him. 

"It is okay, child," says Monet, kneeling down to greet him. "You are safe now." 

"Thank you," says Little Man, hugging his rescuer tightly. She holds him close to comfort him, sensing the strength that lies within him. Her eyes slowly pan the landscape, which undergoes a metamorphosis from apocalyptic nightmare to tropical island, the same island they have visited innumerable times. She interrupted by the psychic image of the White Queen standing on the sand in the distance, a remorseful look on her face. 

"Do you see now...Emma?", says Monet. "There is no hidden agenda, no reason for me to usurp anyone's abilities and make them my own. Nobody is being used. This is real." 

"I regret ever making the insinuation, M," replies Emma, "but how real is this? There are better ways to deal with your family traumas than trying to recreate your childhood." 

"By what?", Monet snaps, "talking about them in a room filled with manic depressives? Psychological profiles from someone whose mind is woefully inadequate compared to our own? I did not ask to be born into the farce that calls itself my family. Nobody understands what I have been through, save for Charles. He has seen firsthand the pain I have suffered, and he has helped me to cope far more than any of you. I have done everything I can for him...because of everything he has done for me." 

She kisses him lightly on the ear. "Perhaps those emotions are beyond your comprehension." 

Emma scowls and disappears, leaving Monet grasping Charles against the wall of his room, shards of glass scattered about them, the cold of the night air blowing above them. They remain still on the floor as the door slams open, Synch and Burnout following behind it. "What happened?", says Burnout, effortlessly leapfrogging the bed. "Is everyone okay?" 

"We're fine now," says a breathless Charles, glancing up at him from behind the head resting on his shoulder, "but we have to act quickly. Paris' broken memory is still hampering his power, but not for much longer." 

"Understood," replies Burnout, "but do we have any idea of where this Exodus guy even is?" 

"Yes," says Monet, her eyes unclouding, "we do." 

--- 

"This does NOT, I repeat, does NOT look like a supervillain's hideout." 

Freefall stands with her Gen-13 teammates in front of an abandoned warehouse on a foggy pier in a remote corner of Boston Harbor. The decayed wood and broken windows indicate it may collapse at any second. 

"I don't know, Roxy," says Burnout. "It kinda reminds me of that old rubber factory where that Mister Gone character hung out." 

"Mister who?", says Synch, who stands with all nine of his Generation X teammates behind Gen-13. 

"Long story," replies Fairchild. "You don't wanna know." 

"Are ye sure this is the place, lad?", says Banshee, dressed in full uniform and standing next to Manchild. 

"Positive," the young mutant replies. "It may not look it, but this is exactly where I felt Exodus' presence last night." 

"Aren't we going out on a limb here?", says Rainmaker. "It seems like we're all betting Lynch's life on one boy's hunch." 

"It's not a hunch," says M. "This is the very location." 

"Sarah, I'm with Charles here," says Fairchild. "I may not have known him for very long, but I trust his instincts, and even if this isn't where Exodus is keeping Mr. Lynch, we have to be sure." 

"Thank you, Caitlin," says Manchild. Freefall gazes upon Manchild, standing strong, almost a beacon in the thick fog surrounding them. All that goes through her mind is that she would follow him anywhere. 

She may have to. Without warning, Synch winces and falls to his knees, groaning in pain. 

"Ev!", shouts Jubilee, "what's happening?" 

"There's a power...coming from...that warehouse." Synch struggles to push the words through his mouth. "Drawing us...in..." 

"Yeah, this is the place," Grunge mutters, just before both teams feel themselves teleporting to a completely different location. In a flash, the corner of the harbor appears empty, save for a tall hooded figure in the shadows, watching the young men and women disappear into thin air. "Gone," he whispers to himself as he looks upon the warehouse, not with fear, but with determination. "Inside. It is time..." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE EIGHTH -- MENTAL HOPSKOTCH 

Banshee can only guess what happened to everyone else. All he knows is that he is without his sea legs at the moment. 

"Och, what a tempest!", he shouts to nobody in particular as he tries to balance himself on the deck of the swaying cruise ship. "This buggard is movin' more violently than the storm itself. Where's Ororo when ye need her?" 

He clutches the edge of the deck as the rain pours down from the dark grey skies, the waves of the sea crashing around him. He wonders how he got here, and what this has to do with his Gen-13 counterpart falling into the hands of Exodus. 

"How could you?" 

The voice turns his train of thought on its ear. A glance over his shoulder covers his skin with goose bumps. 

"Clarice?" 

Wearing the blue jumpsuit the Phalanx gave her, the lavender- skinned girl walks calmly across the deck, her movements betraying the typhoon in their midst. 

"Do you remember this ship, Banshee?", she says. "This is where it all happened. This is where I saved all those lives -- and where you couldn't return the favor." 

"'Twas all I could do t'save ye, Clarice," Banshee replies. "Do ye think a day goes by when I donnae think about ye?" 

"I know, Banshee," she replies. "The guilt must weigh so heavily on you -- first Inspector Devereaux, then me. How could you let us die, Banshee? How could you?" 

Her soulless gaze strikes fear in his heart. "No, Clarice!", he begs her. "Please! I did all I could for ye." 

"I wish I could believe you," she replies coldly. "Now I'll just have to show you what might have been..." 

One blink, and Banshee slowly feels his body turning inside out. He reaches for his head, only to feel his hands separate from his arms. His entire body begins to fragment, setting off his sonic scream in one last gasp for life. He cries out to the girl, feeling each chunk of himself slip of the edge of the ship, only to watch for a split-second as she collapses and fades. His shoulders land first on the hard metal floor. 

"Get up, Irish," says Emma, standing over him. "I'm starting to get sick and tired of bailing your ass out of every near-death situation." 

"What happened?", he says. 

"Gee, not even a thank you this time?", she replies. 

"I'll thank ye later, woman," he retorts. "What the blazes just happened?" 

"Exodus was playing with your head," she says. "Apparently, he didn't like playing with me, so he took to you instead. Almost a disappointment, really." 

"Do ye know where the children are?" 

"I can sense them all somewhere in this giant maze we're trapped inside. Whether we can help them all or not I don't know -- it's taking all I've got to psi-shield both our location and my beacon to Xavier from Exodus." 

"Then we best act quickly. This way." 

Banshee and Emma's footsteps echo through the room as they disappear into the hallway. 

--- 

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! "Take that, motherfuckers!" 

Angelo pulls the black bandana off his head as he ducks gunfire behind the side of the parked Impala. This is just how he remembers the scene -- one of the biggest gunfights in the history of the East Los Angeles barrio, and he finds himself caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. 

Then, it gets worse. 

"Auuuugh!", he groans, clutching his head, feeling his skin begin to slip off his body. "The headaches. Not now...please, not now." 

"Having trouble getting a hold of yourself, amigo?" 

He stands in front of Angelo, the 9mm pistol aimed straight for the drooping skin on his forehead. 

"Torre," he mutters. "I thought I told you to go to hell once." 

"I suppose I'll see you there, no?" he says. "Enjoy the trip." 

That's when the techno-organic mesh sneaks up behind Torre and swallows him whole before Angelo's eyes. That's when the techno- gibberish of the machine spits out command after command, turning Angelo's heart cold. That's when the machine pulls Angelo out of the barrio and into the heart of a menace. 

But that was then. This time, a wave of psionic energy blows the machine into tiny pieces before it touches its designated target. 

"And you wanna leave the Xavier school behind, huh?" 

Skin pulls himself together to see Husk and Chamber standing behind him on the sidewalk, which quickly turns into a small, pyramid- shaped room, a lone hanging lamp shinging down from the point in the ceiling. 

"Should I even ask?", says Skin. 

"Probably not," replies Husk. 

"There's psionic energy all over th'bloody place," says Chamber. "Y'can't get away from it if y'tried." 

"Since when has that stopped us?", replies Skin. 

"Good point," says a smiling Husk. "Now duck." 

Without thinking, Skin does just that, allowing Chamber to smash the shadow of the sentinel in front of him. 

"I'll say this about Exodus," says Skin, looking at the debris behind him, "his sneak attacks stink, no?" 

"Let's just say he isn' concentratin' on us, gov'nor," replies Chamber. 

--- 

"Anybody get the license number of that thing?" 

Grunge lay beneath the tangled heap of teenagers that are his teammates. As soon as his vision comes into focus, he suddenly finds himself enjoying the view. 

"Bobby," says Fairchild, "get OFF of me." 

"Like I'm in any mood to play Twister right now, myself," replies Burnout. 

"No rush, Bobby," Grunge says. "Twister ain't a bad game." 

Freefall sighs. "Do I have to do EVERYTHING around here!?" With one command, she lifts everyone into the air, where they all untangle and land on their feet -- except Grunge, who lands flat on his face. "Oof!" 

"One day, Grunge," she says, "you'll wake up and smell the coffee." 

"I did," he replies. "Perkolater was making it the other day." 

"Uh, guys," says Rainmaker, "we've got bigger problems here." 

She points to a large figure sitting in a strange golden chair hovering slightly off the ground. He is completely bald, impeccably dressed and staring upon them. 

"Caitlin," he says. "Are you okay?" 

"Professor Xavier?", she replies, stunned at even his psionic presence. "We're fine. What is it?" 

"Things have taken a turn for the worse," he replies. "The group that was helping you has been separated, and Exodus is destroying them one by one. I fear he is saving the worst for you. We must get out of here immediately." 

"But what about Mr. Lynch," says Freefall. 

"I'm afraid we cannot help him," Xavier replies. 

"No," says Rainmaker, "I refuse to believe --" 

"I beg of you, Sarah," Xavier interrupts, "there's nothing more you can do here. I have summoned the X-Men to come in and deal with Exodus. We must return to the Xavier School immediately." 

The five begin to hang their heads and follow Xavier down the hallway. They have come so far to save their teacher, done so much to try and stop Exodus, only to be ordered to return to the Xavier school. 

That's when it hits Fairchild. 

"No," she says, stopping cold and looking back at Xavier. 

"I cannot let you risk your lives any further, Caitlin," says Xavier. Fairchild returns Xavier's icy gaze. The rest of the team looks at her as if she lost it. 

"Uh, Kat," says Grunge, "isn't this Xavier guy the one you talked to just last night?" 

"He's on our side, isn't he?", says Burnout. 

Fairchild says nothing, her eyeballs suspiciously locked on the image of Xavier in front of her. Her teammates know immediately that something isn't right. 

--- 

Jubilee awakens on a cold iron floor in a dimly-lit box of a room. As she rubs her eyes, she sees a vision that haunts her on more occasions than she cares to admit. 

"Wolvie?", she says softly, looking up to see her former teammate, dressed in a flannel shirt and khakis, a striking Asian woman on his arm. 

"Kid," he says, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you. I never could find the right time to say it, though." 

"Wait," says Jubilee. "Isn't that Mariko?" Logan and the woman both just smile at her. 

The giant arm reaches up to quickly sweep Jubilee away from the high-calibre bullets that pierce the floor. Mondo sets her down gently and rises up from the floor until the metal outline of his body from the waist up is visible. 

"Not the best way to remember your best friend, no?", he says. 

"Thanks, big guy," says Jubilee, "and stay right there." 

She quickly ducks beneath his iron figure and rests her wrists on his shoulders, shooting sparks from her fingers at the approaching sentinels. They all fire upon Mondo's back, but he effectively absorbs the bullets and fires them back at the robots. Suddenly, a rainbow drifts over to Jubilee, and a pair of sentinels explode. 

"Is this a cavalry or what?", exclaims Jubilee as Synch runs up to her. 

"Let's get 'em, J," he replies, and they all begin a furious onslaught on the giant metal weapons, working as teammates to destroy them. The only problem is that after a few minutes, they don't stop coming. 

"Just how many of them are there?", yells Mondo. 

"As many as we have to knock down!", shouts Jubilee, backing up with Synch and Mondo to the wall. 

"Guys," says Synch, "I don't like this. We need to get out of here." 

"Since when have you run from a fight!?", retorts Jubilee. 

"Since we were this outnumbered," Mondo replies. "Come on." 

As Mondo quickly slides into the wall, Synch readjusts his aura, pulling it from Jubilee and touching Mondo's hand with it. Jubilee continues to fight off the advancing androids as Synch walks through the wall. 

"C'mon, Jube, let's go!", he shouts. 

"Not yet," she replies, turning to her left and letting loose on another pair of robots. "I think I can get the rest of 'em. Send ol' Exodus a message about Generation X. You hearin' this, PARIS!? Thinkin' those guinea pigs are Xavier's kids! Of all the nerve!" 

As Jubilee moves further away from Synch toward a corner, one last robot casts a shadow on Jubilee, approaching her from behind. 

"LOOK OUT!" 

Jubilee turns around, given no time to react to the spray of bullets emerging from the sentinel, forcing Synch back through the other side of the wall. "NOOOOOOO!", he screams, banging his fist against the cold metal. 

"C'mon, Synch," says Mondo, grabbing him by the waist, "we gotta get out of here." 

Another sentinel appears in front of them, and Mondo and Synch quickly disappear into the floor, avoiding a spray of ricocheting bullets. 

--- 

"Kat," says Freefall, suddenly feeling weak in the midst of the stare of Charles Xavier, "what are you doing?" 

"You're playing games," says Fairchild her voice mocking Xavier's presense, "and I, for one, don't appreciate it. Tell me, sir, why should we return to the Xavier School when we're not students there in the first place? That doesn't make a lot of sense, does it, Professor X?" 

The rest of the team catches on quickly, and they join Fairchild in staring Xavier down, telepath to team, each seeing through the other. 

"Or should I say...Professor Exodus?", says Fairchild. Xavier sighs. 

"Your lack of trust disappoints me, Caitlin," he says. "I'm afraid I will have to do this the hard way. Remove them from this place, my X-Men." 

The shadows loom across the wall, until they step finally into the light -- Cyclops, Phoenix, Iceman, Beast, Archangel. They were the first X-Men, and they intend to stay that way. 

"You heard the professor, kids," says Cyclops. "Let's get out of here." 

"Forget it, one-eye," says Fairchild. "You'll have to drag us out of here." 

"Uh, Kat," whispers Freefall, "Do you have a plan here or what?" 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE NINTH -- STANDOFF 

Jubilee raises her head from the floor and blinks her eyes several times, realizing she is still in the same room as before, and again, not dead. She is not comforted, though, by the figure in the black robe standing over her. 

"Arise, my child," he says in a gentle but authoritative tone. "You are safe now." 

"Please tell me you aren't the Grim Reaper," she says softly. "Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease..." 

"No, young one," he replies. "I am...a friend. Look around you and see your vanquished enemies." She sees the debris scattered throughout the room. 

"You're a friend, huh?", she says, looking away from him. "What made you come to that conclusion?" 

"It is my...penance," he replies, his voice fading. Jubilee freezes, quickly turning back to find the robed figure vanished. 

"Hey!", she shouts. "Where'd you go?" 

"Where'd who go, gel?" She turns around to see Chamber and Husk walking through a large hole in the wall. Skin follows behind them. 

"Great," Jubilee replies. "I have TWO near death experiences in five minutes, and you two are off sucking face somewhere." 

"I don't think so, Jubilation." Jubilee rubs her forehead, as if to remove Emma Frost's psionic voice in her mind. "Now follow my voice here children, and we'll work out a plan." 

"Have y'found us all, sir?", says Chamber. 

"Only your classmates, Chamber," she replies, "and there are a few I still haven't found." 

--- 

"You a'ight, Chuck?" 

Manchild sits in the spotlight on a parquet floor in the spherical room, scratching his head in confusion. There are two openings in the room, one to his front and another to his back. Perkolater quickly runs through the back opening to meet him. 

"I guess so, Perkolater," he replies. "Where are we?" 

"Gotta be Exodus' lair, kid," Perkolater replies. "Some o' them bots came after me." 

"Any sign of the others?", asks Manchild as he stands up. 

"Not yet," Perkolater replies, "but they in here somewhere. I thought I heard a couple of 'em in a shootout a few minutes ago. I figured I might help 'em, so I got juiced up for it." 

Manchild's attention suddenly wavers, and he begins looking around the room. "He's not well." 

"Who's not well?" 

"Paris. Somehow I can sense his presence all throughout the room, and even down those hallways. He still seems powerful, but it's as if he's...lost." 

Perkolater cocks his brow at Manchild. "Say what?" 

"He doesn't know who he's fighting," Manchild replies, "or why. He's wounded somehow, and he's grasping at straws." 

"TARGET MUTANTS IDENTIFIED. SURRENDER OR PERISH." 

Both Perkolater and Manchild turn to see a pair of sentinels facing them, blocking the hallway behind them. 

"Yo, Chuck," says Perkolater quietly, "these honeydrippers are STILL frontin' on us." 

"Then we'll have to...to..." Manchild searches for the right phrase. "...show them what time it is?" 

Perkolater grins approvingly at him. "Not bad, Chuck," he says, then in the blink of an eye, knocks both robots to the floor and stands behind them. "All yours, kid..." 

A magnetic sweep of the air in the room pulls the robots apart and tosses them against the wall in pieces. As Manchild lets up for a moment to recover, Perkolater sees the shadow of a third bot appear directly Manchild. 

"Oh, sh..." 

As Perkolater zips toward Manchild, another shadow dives head first into the robots chest, slashing plates and wires apart furiously. When the dust clears, Perkolater and Manchild see her squatting down at the robot and grinning. 

"All right, Penance," says Manchild. She immediately turns serious and points to the hallway behind Perkolater, then looks up at Manchild. 

"You see the girl," says Perkolater, pointing at her as he started down the hallway. "Let's be audi!" 

--- 

There is only the sound of the battle. On the one side are the original members of the X-Men, perhaps the most experienced team of superheroes on the planet. On the other is Gen-13, a group of teenagers still learning about the powers they possess, let alone how to work together. On the surface, it's not even close to a contest. 

But that's why they play the game. 

"You realize, of course," says Beast, his hand gripping Rainmaker's neck, "that this disobedience will NOT be tolerated." 

"Stick it, furball," says Rainmaker, who shoots lightning into Beast's eyes and blinds him. "I can't see!", he shouts, falling to the floor in pain. 

"Hank!" The razor blades fly instinctively from Archangel's wings toward Rainmaker, who ducks out of the way, only to be lifted into the air by Phoenix. 

"Such a third rate impression of a weather goddess," she says to the young Apache. "Ororo would be ashamed." 

"Ororo can bite me!", shouts Freefall, encasing Phoenix in a gravity bubble and tossing her against the wall. 

"Jean!", shouts Cyclops, who fires at random on anyone Gen-13 member in the room. Everyone ducks out of the way, giving Iceman the chance to slide his way toward Burnout. 

"Now HERE'S a matchup," says Iceman. "Mr. Cool versus the firefly. Wonder how this one will turn out?" 

"I'll give you an example," Burnout replies, throwing a large plasma ball at Iceman. The X-Man freezes it in mid-air, however, turning what was once pure heat into pure cold. 

"How's this for throwing one back?", says Iceman, raising the giant snowball toward the young blonde. 

"You're not ALLOWED to throw that back!" Grunge grabs a piece of the ice slide on which Iceman stands, bonds the molecules in his hands with the ice, and rips the slide apart. As Iceman falls and catches a lightning bolt from Rainmaker, Grunge adjusts his grip on the ice slide and looks at a stunned Archangel. 

"Batter up!" he shouts, smacking the winged mutant into the ceiling. 

"No!", shouts Cyclops, firing on whoever's in his sights. "This is all wrong!" 

"You're right, Cyke," says Fairchild. "This *is* all wrong." 

Fairchild swiftly puts the X-Men's leader into a chokehold, then slowly reaches her hand up to his wide-opened eyes, carefully blocking them from the rest of the team. 

"You see, you're not the real Scott Summers," she says. "If you were, I don't I'd be able to block those beams of pure force emanating from your eyes with one hand -- even if it is a pretty strong hand, don't you think?" 

Cyclops struggles in Fairchild's grasp, only to be tossed into the wall like a bean bag. He looks up as Fairchild stands over her, realizing she is too strong to be moved by his optic blasts. 

"What's the matter, Scotty?", she sneers. "Do I remind you of someone? Maybe your EX-WIFE!?" 

One kick, and Cyclops falls unconscious. Fairchild and her teammates then watch as he and the rest of the X-Men disappear before their eyes. 

"Whoa," says Grunge. "What happened to 'em?" 

"Yeah," says Freefall. "I was just feelin' good about takin' the X-Men out." 

"Those weren't the X-Men, guys," says Fairchild, looking over her shoulder into the empty wall. "I know who it was, though." 

"Don't keep us in suspense or anything," replies Burnout. 

The room dissovles from a metallic shell to the corner of a large room with rotting wood walls and a concrete floor. In the midst of a cobweb-covered array of vertical beams sits a large platform, upon which stands a royal figure in brightly colored armor and his prisoner, tied up in bright yellow psionic bands. 

"Nice try, Exdous," says Fairchild. "Now why don't you quit hiding and face us for real." 

"Xavier and Lynch have trained you well, children," says Exodus, his voice booming across the room, "but I guarantee you, he has not trained you for me." 

--- 

"You're alive..." 

"Yeah, no thanks to you, Rainbow Brite." 

"Hey, if that robot hadn't started shooting--" 

"I don't wanna hear it, you wimp. We could have dumped all of those sentinels if you and Island Boy hadn't bailed. 

"You two can fight later," says Emma, interrupting Synch and Jubilee as Banshee, Chamber, Husk, Perkolater, Skin, Mondo, Manchild and Penance all follow behind. "We've got to find our way toward Gen-13, and I haven't been able to track their presense here at all." 

"Not a problem." M's psionic voice once again takes the White Queen by surprise. 

"Where are you, M?", she replies psionically. 

"Just follow me," says M. "I have found Gen-13...and Exodus." 

--- 

"If this is your game, Exodus," says Fairchild, "it's a mighty weak one, going after Xavier's next generation in order to get to Xavier. What did you hope to accomplish?" 

"I am merely sending a message to Xavier," replies Exodus, "that I am not some pawn in HIS game. He wishes to sit at the table with those that want to see us dead. I propose an alternative." 

Lynch looks up at Fairchild, who returns his glance with a reassuring nod. 

"What? To kill enough fellow mutants that humanity won't have to worry?", returns Burnout. 

"Do you think I enjoy these encounters?", says Exodus. "Do you think I merely revel in my powers and in attacking others with them? There is a greater truth to my quest -- the truth that is homo sapiens superior. How can you be blind to the fact that humanity will stop at nothing to destroy us, to claim their right to this planet? That is OUR right, young ones. 

"So you would rather see all of humanity destroyed to attain your conquest," says Fairchild. "I don't think Magneto would go along with you." 

"And what do you know of Magneto, young Fairchild?", says Exodus. 

"I know his belief system didn't extend to genocide and Darwinism. All Magneto ever wanted was a place where Mutants could be free of persecution from a humanity that hated him. He tried to show the world that mutants were just as human as anyone else. His only fault was instilling such fear in the populace that they came to loathe him and his abilities. Humanity MADE Magneto their sworn enemy. Perhaps you never noticed the bond between Charles Xavier and Magneto. Despite their opposing philosophies, they are closer than you think." 

Exodus' mouth slowly curls into a proud smile. "I admire your courage and intelligence, young Fairchild. You are a much more worthy oppoent than I expected, but you see, you did not know Magneto. You did not see with your own eyes the power he commanded. You could not have known the pain and the suffering he went through to obtain his true goals. What's more, the lessons of Xavier have clouded your judgment. Do you now see the humanity that created us cannot accept that WE are the rightful heirs of this planet? Who are we to lie down with the dogs, when we must step forward to claim our birthright?" 

"Step forward and claim this!", shouts Burnout, who raises his hand to fire a plasma burst at Exodus. His eyes express his shock as his hands fail him. 

"What the..." 

"You do not see, do you, young one?", says Exodus. "A new day is beginning for mutant kind, and it shall be a day for mutants around the globe -- and a day without any intrusions from the students of Xavier." 

"Not to be rude..." 

Exodus turns to his right, stunned at the sight of Monet St. Croix floating in mid-air. 

"...but those are NOT the students of Xavier." 

The members of Gen-13 duck as the sonic scream shatters the wall on their left. Through the wall come the team made up of the real students of Charles Xavier. Their presense, as well as the scream of the former X-Man Banshee, take him by surprise. 

"What in the name...", he mutters. 

"Why ya wasting your time with them?", says Jubilee. "They're not even mutants." The sparks fly, followed by the psionic energy of Chamber and the stretching epidermis of Skin. Exodus responds by waving the bound form of John Lynch in front of the oncoming attack. 

"No!", shouts Freefall as Rainmaker's gust of wind pushes all the mutant energy away from Lynch. M quickly ducks out of the way and rejoins her teammates. 

"I was wrong," Exodus whimpers. "How could I have been wrong?" 

"I've seen what you've been through, Paris." Exodus looks up and sees the figure of Manchild rising from the crowd of Xavier's students. "I know the type of confusion you're feeling. It doesn't have to be like this." 

"You!", shouts Exodus, his eyes glowing a bright orange. Manchild suddenly tenses up in mid-air, but recovers quickly. 

"You...stopped my attack...", gasps a stunned Exodus. 

"I've learned how to handle psychic attacks like yours," replies Manchild, flashing a quick glance at M, "and I know right now that you don't have the strength to battle us all." 

Exodus ponders Manchild more closely, seeing a haunting resemblance to the man that rescued him years before. "Who are you?" 

"I am the son of the Magneto that never was," Manchild replies. "the Magneto that watched as Charles Xavier sacrificed his life so that he could live. The Magneto that built the X-Men in honor of his slain friend, and fought mutant supremacy to the bitter end." 

"He's WHAT?", exclaims Freefall. 

"Stand back, Roxy," Fairchild replies. "Let him speak." 

"You mean you knew this?", says Burnout. "And you didn't tell us?" 

"You didn't need to know," retorts Fairchild. 

"You are a blasphemer!", shouts Exodus. "Magneto would never believe the farce that is Xavier's dream. Since when have you born witness to his will?" 

"I carry his will with me," replies Manchild. "You have only known Magneto for a short time, when he rescued you from the dogs of Apocalypse. Do you remember that moment, Paris?" 

Exodus slowly begins to step backward as Manchild begins to display the power signature of his father. "You did not see Magneto's escape from the concentration camps of Auchwitz, nor witness his rage in response to the careless death of his daughter. Those memories are forever etched into my mind, along with memories of a Magneto you will never know." 

"If he chose to follow Xavier," Exodus returns, "I would not WANT to know him." 

Synch quickly runs over to Grunge. "Manchild's got him on the ropes, homie," says Synch. "Ready?" 

Grunge grins and nods. "Dude..." 

"You have known the man on this world, Paris," Manchild continues, "yet you refuse to see his motivations, nor can you accept that his true goal was never world domination. Why, Paris?" 

"Because I see the bigger picture," he replies, his eyes shining a bright orange. Manchild tenses up to fight the psionic attack, but he cannot stop it as before, and he falls to the ground in pain. "And you, demon, are not a part of it." 

"And neither are you!", shouts Synch, his aura wrapped around Grunge, his hand pointing at Exodus, the decaying wood of the platform bonding with Exodus' feet, legs, waist, chest. Exodus yells in anger, releasing his hold on Lynch and concentrating solely on the force acting upon his body. As the bonding process slowly reaches his neck, Exodus begins to vibrate upon the platform, and Synch can feel the power fighting him. 

"Too...strong...can't...hold him..." 

As Synch collapses, Exodus explodes in a violent burst of energy and lashes out at both Lynch and Manchild. 

"Don't you hurt him!", shouts Freefall, who tosses gravity bubbles at Exodus, only to have them thrown back at her, one of them trapping her inside. 

"Hey!", she yells. "No fair!" 

"That, my dear, is the fallacy of Xavier's dream," Exodus replies. "He believes human and mutant can achieve a level of fairness, and we all know by now that this will never be the case." 

"That never stopped us from trying," says M, who flies toward Exodus and punches him hard in the back. With a quick spin in mid-air, however, Exodus waves his hand in front of M, throwing her hard into Banshee, Emma and Jubilee. The rest of both teams watch as Exodus, his prisoner in tow, floats above the platform, his psionic signature raging about it. 

"His power...", mutters Manchild, "growing...stronger...every minute..." 

"So it is, child," says Exodus, "and so it has been since I returned from the ocean floor where your real father left me!" 

"Please, Paris," says Manchild, attempting to stand, "you don't understand." 

"Silence," says Exodus, who with a thought pushes Manchild and the rest of Generation X to the ground. "I very well understand. I see through you, student of Xavier -- your real goal is to destroy the will of Lord Magneto, and the will of homo superior once and for all. I tell you now that this will never happen." 

"Unbelievable," says Fairchild still standing her ground. "You still don't get it, do you?" 

Exodus' glowing eyes change from bright orange to dazzling white. "Young Fairchild, it is you and your friends who don't get it," says Exodus, his voice turning deep and resonant. He raises his fist to the sky. "But now you shall. Let this be a warning to you, Xavier. Cross me again, and you, like your students, by the will of Lord Magneto, shall PERISH! WITNESS, XAVIER, THE WRATH OF EXODUS!!!" 

Before Exodus can act, he feels the ceiling slowly begin to crash down upon him. As he rises from the debris, he sees a hooded figure slowly float down to him. 

"That is enough!", the figure shouts. "I shall not stand by and watch as you harm these children." 

"Who dares to cross me?", shouts Exodus. "The will of my lord shall not be prevented, stranger." 

"Yes, it WILL." A raised arm from the hooded figure attracts a steel beam from the debris, which floats toward Exodus and wraps itself around his chest. 

"Saints preserve us," says Banshee. "It cannot be..." 

As Exodus struggles against the force of the beam surrounding him, he looks up to see the figure drop his hood, revealing his long, white hair and a face that looks as if it has been chiseled from stone. 

"I am called Joseph," he says. "I have come to this place in search of the truth. Instead, all I have found is destruction, and I shall bring it to a halt." 

"My lord," says Exodus, kneeling before him. 

"Whooooaaaa," says Grunge, as he and his Gen-13 teammates look on in awe. 

"I've heard so many stories about him," says Rainmaker, "but to see him in person..." 

Fairchild's awe at the sight of the stranger turns to fear for one of her new friends. 

"Oh, no," she thinks out loud. "Charles." 

She slowly turns to see Manchild down on his hands and knees, staring up at the stranger, his jaw dropped in stunned disbelief. 

"Father?" 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE TENTH -- ONLY A MOTION AWAY 

"Easy, lad. Don't let yuir feelings take over." 

"Chill out, Chuck! He ain't the one, kid!" 

"Please, Manchild! We understand what's happening, but you have to get a hold of yourself!" 

They are his teammates, his partners, his friends. But Charles Xavier Lehnscherr, the new Generation X member called Manchild, doesn't care right now. All that matters to him is that his father is alive. 

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" In a flash, Manchild releases a magnetic sphere of energy that throws all of his teammates in various directions away from him. "I will not let you keep me from my father!" 

He is dressed in a dark blue cape that covers the ragged clothes underneath it completely. His hair, as white as the top of a snow- capped mountain, drapes down into the hood of the cape. He stands tall and dignified before the groups of young men and women in front him, as well as the powerful mutant kneeling before him and the older man lying to his side. 

He announced himself to everyone as Joseph. It was a name given to him by another. It is all he knows. He has been told that there are others with special powers like him -- X-Men, they are called -- and he has searched for them in order to find the missing pieces to his life. As he witnessed the battles within the shadow of this warehouse, he believed he was closer to them than he had ever been. 

Then he caught sight of the young man with the exact same power signature as his. Now, the confusion in his mind grows larger than ever. 

"I have...a son?", says Joseph. 

Manchild immediately flies toward Joseph and drops gently in front of him, until they stand face-to-face. He looks upon the hooded figure, taking in every detail to ensure that this was indeed the man that held him on his world's last day. 

"Father," he says, putting his hands on the man's shoulders, "oh, God, you look so much younger. Yet your eyes. Almost...afraid. Oh, Father, what has happened to you?" 

"I...I do not know," Joseph replies, gently removing the young man's hands from his. "There is so much that I do not remember..." 

As Joseph's hand touches Manchild's, the memories slowly travel from one to the other. Manchild slowly sorts through the images that enter his mind, only to find that there are but a few months worth of them, some of them as dark as his own memories of the Age of Apocalypse. 

Manchild drops to his knees and moans softly. "What it is, young man?", says Joseph. 

"Your mind," Manchild replies. "It is as if someone has taken your memories away from you. So much of your life is missing." 

"Yes," Joseph says as he helps Manchild back to his feet, "it is a mystery for which I have been seeking the answers. I was told that a group of men and women like myself would have the answers. They were called...X-Men." 

"You cannot be serious, my lord," shouts Exodus. "You are the sworn enemy of the X-Men, yet you turn to them for help?" 

"Silence!", shouts Joseph as he tightens the beam around Exodus' chest. As he does so, Fairchild and Burnout quietly slip behind him and head for their fallen teacher. 

"Are you all right, Mr. Lynch?", says Fairchild. 

"A little worse for the wear," Lynch replies, "but I'll be okay." 

"Sounds good to me," Burnout replies. 

"I will admit," Joseph says as he turns and paces away from Manchild and Exodus. "The name X-Men did seem almost...familiar to me. Yet my lack of memories has prevented me from making the connection between them and myself." 

He turns back to Manchild. "Are these the X-Men?" 

"No, Father," says Manchild, "but they will be one day. They... we are the next generation of mutants, honing our powers and fighting for the dream of mutant-human equality -- the dream of the man after which you named me." 

"Who was that man?", asks Joseph. 

"His name was Charles Xavier." 

"Xavier," thinks Joseph aloud. "I have heard that name before." 

Exodus' eyes begin to glow a bright red, and Charles drops to his knees, gritting his teeth in pain. 

"Yes, you have, my lord," says Exodus as he rises to his feet, the metal beam still around his chest. "Charles Xavier is the man who made you what you are today. He turned you into this mindless shell of a human. You were a god among men, as are all homo superior. If not for the meddling of the X-Men, we would have taken our rightful place as rulers of the world! Do not let this blasphemer dissuade you from your destiny, my lord!" 

"Paris," Manchild whispers painfully, "Noooo..." 

"Enough!", shouts Joseph, as he tightens the metal beam around Exodus' chest and gather more pieces of scrap metal to firm his grip around the powerful young mutant. "I know nothing of the things of which you both may speak, but I know the evil that you intended to inflict on the young men and women in this room. And for what purpose, beyond your own petty delusions of grandeur?" 

Charles gets up from his position to see Exodus floating above them, struggling in vain to escape the iron and steel bonds Joseph has wrapped around him. "Since losing my memory, I have witnessed first- hand the evil that man has created out of his own petty greed -- children kidnapped, religious missions trampled, their land stolen and divided. You say that we are the rightful rulers of the world, yet you would MURDER to take that throne? What's more, you would murder CHILDREN for it?" 

A long, thin strip of metal floats at Joseph's command to the edge of Exodus' throat. "Be gone, murderer!", Joseph shouts. "Your day of tyranny has ended!" 

"No, Father!" Manchild immediately lets out a magnetic pulse that sends the metal strip flying away. "This cannot be the answer. Exodus may be a murderer, but to kill him for it makes you no better than he is. Look inside your heart, Father, and you will find the answer." 

As Joseph holds Exodus and the metal pieces around him aloft, he remembers one face -- the face of little Roberto, the youngest child of the central American mission where Joseph stayed for months, and the horror on that face when he looked upon the death and destruction that accompanied their rescue. He lowers his hands, and Exodus lands on the floor with a thud. 

"You are right, son," says Joseph. "Thank you." Joseph looks more closely at the boy. "You call me father," he says, "and yet I look at your eyes, and I think...you have your mother's eyes." 

A tear forms in Manchild's eye as he reaches out to hug Joseph tightly. "Let me help you, Father," he says. "I can give you back your memories." 

"You...you can?", Joseph says. 

"Yes," says Manchild as he pulls away slightly from him. "When my mutant powers were developed, my mind was flooded with memories -- your memories, as well as my mother's memories. I can return them to you. I have the ability to see other people's memories with but a touch, and my friend...my love, Monet...she is helping me to control this power, so that I may give other people the memories in my mind. I am still learning, and it takes great effort on my part, but I can give you your memories back. Then, you will see the truth." 

Joseph listens to Manchild and suddenly become apprehensive. Can he trust those memories? Will they reveal to them who he truly is? What if Exodus is right, and he truly is the sworn enemy of those whom he seeks? And what will he become once he learns the truth about who he was? 

"I...yes," says Joseph. "I must face the truth if I can continue." 

"Then take my hand, Father," Manchild replies. "I will return it to you." 

"Charles, wait." 

Both men turn their attention to Fairchild, who walks up to the platform to join them. She stands several inches above both of them. 

"Your intentions are noble, Charles," she says, "but this is not the way to help him, because your memories of your father are different from Joseph's memories." 

"What do you mean?", says Joseph. "Is this young man not my son?" 

"I know this will be difficult for you to understand," she replies, "but they are both right, both Charles and Exodus. You see, Joseph, before you lost your memory, you were Magneto, one of the most powerful mutants on the planet, and an enemy to both humanity and the X- Men. On the other hand, Charles is indeed the son of Magneto. But he is not *your* son." 

"I don't understand," replies Joseph. 

"I know it doesn't make much sense," Fairchild says, "but I'll try to explain it the best that I can." 

With that, Fairchild begins telling Joseph the whole story -- who he is, how he got there, that fateful day twenty years ago that changed his life and changed the world, bringing about the existence of Manchild. Joseph asks questions, and she answers them. In the end, as one would suspect, Joseph appears dumbfounded by it all. 

"A dream I fought for," says Joseph, "yet at the same time one I fought to destroy." 

"Sort of," replies Fairchild. "Like I said, it's difficult for any of us to understand, but it's the truth." 

Joseph takes a deep breath and runs his hands through his hair. He looks upon the teams of young heroes assembled before him, then upon the fallen mutant wrapped in steel at his feet. It seems so impossible -- parallel universes and time travel, and how one man's existence can change the entire world. This man must be important, however. How else could his dream have endured for so long, and through so many worlds? 

"Can you take me to see this Xavier?", says Joseph. 

"Come, Father," replies Charles. "I shall introduce you to him personally." 

"Could you introduce me, too?", says Lynch. "I'd like to meet the man who made this Exodus punk come after my students instead of his." 

"Yes, sir," replies Manchild. "Gen-13 is more than welcome to join us." 

"There's a relief," mutters Skin. 

--- 

The Blackbird's VTOL engines allow it to land quietly perpendicular to the pier where the old warehouse slowly crumbles in the mist. Immediately it opens, and its passengers -- Cyclops, Phoenix, Beast, Iceman and Archangel -- rush to the scene. 

"Let's move, people," commands Cyclops. "We have no idea what condition those kids might be in now. Phoenix, have you picked up a reading on them?" 

"Yes, I have," she replies, abruptly halting in mid-jog, "and they aren't in danger." 

"I find that hard to believe," replies Archangel. 

"Perhaps not so hard as you might think," says Beast, pointing to the pier. "Look." 

"What is WITH you guys?", yells Jubilee as she walks across the pier, her teammates slowly filing out behind her. "We break a psionic beacon with you for FIVE SECONDS, and you come charging in here like we're a bunch of no-skills little wimps who can't put up a fight? What kind of confidence is THAT?" 

"Nice to see you, too, Jubilee," replies Iceman. 

"But what happened to Exodus?", asks Phoenix. Jubilee snaps twice in the air. "Ah, he was nothin'." 

"Do not concern yourself with me, Jean Grey..." The voice rings through her mind, harking back to a halted psi-scan on the exploding deck of Avalon. "I am usually too proud to admit my mistakes, but rest assured, Clan Summers shall know the name of Exodus in due time." A momentary lapse of fear overcomes her. 

"Nathan...", she whispers to herself. 

Fairchild and John Lynch lead the rest of Gen-13 out of the warehouse, and they freeze at the sight of the X-Men in front of him. 

"What the..." 

"It's okay, guys," says Fairchild. "They're on *our* side this time." 

"How do we know that?", says Rainmaker. 

"These must be your impromptu teammates," Beast says to Jubilee as he delicately tiptoes across the railing of the pier. "I do believe introductions are in order." 

He gracefully scurries across the railing and lands flawlessly on both feet in front of Fairchild. "My name is Doctor Henry McCoy, also referred to as your bouncing, bubbly Beast, at your service, milady." He bows in front of Fairchild, who can only giggle nervously at the chilvalrous display. Perkolater emerges from behind the group, jumping back at the sight of Dr. McCoy. 

"Why, young Mr. Morris," says Beast. "Does my countenance dissuade you?" 

"Man, I just wasn't ready to look at ya right now," replies Perkolater. 

"It happens," replies Beast. "I take it you rather enjoyed your first big adventure as a member of Generation X?" 

"Trust me, Doc," he replies. "This was not about me." He points to the doorway as Manchild and M guide the man that stopped their adversary out of the warehouse. 

"Oh, my stars and garters..." 

--- 

He has asked God for forgiveness every night since that day, its shadows still haunting him. He knows Magnus had to be stopped. If he were allowed to continue, countless more lives might have been lost. He had to take the man's memories away. It was the only way to stop him short of taking his life. 

He has asked God for forgiveness, but there is none for him. 

"Is your burden so great, Charles?" 

Her image lights up an otherwise dark room. Xavier turns in his wheelchair, comforted to see even the slightest holographic semblance of her. 

"You don't understand, Lilandra," replies Xavier. "What I did to my friend went against the very nature of my being. I erased his mind. I still see him every night in my dreams, calling out to me, begging me to make things right." 

"Is it so hard to forgive yourself, Charles?". she asks him. "Decisions in the heat of battle are seldom easy. You did what it took to save your planet, to save your people. You are not to blame for your friend's descent into madness. His return marks his readiness to begin his life anew." 

"But am *I* ready, Lilandra?" asks Xavier. 

She stretches out her hand to him. "Go with my love, Charles. I know in my heart you will do the right thing." 

He reaches out to touch her hand, only to watch it pass through hers. Even though light years separate them, he finds comfort in knowing that somewhere in the universe is someone who truly believes in him. The hologram fades, and he steels himself for what happens next. 

"Professor, the Blackbird is approaching." 

"Thank you, Bishop. I shall be there shortly." 

The chair floats out of the room and down the hallway, once again crossing the path of his old friend. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE ELEVENTH -- SCENES FROM A WESTCHESTER SUNSET 

The day slowly slips away. They have been in the office for hours -- the foremost telepath in the universe and founder of the X-Men, Charles Xavier; the master of magnetism who is both Xavier's friend and nemesis, Erik Magnus Lehnscherr; and a young man from a parallel universe, where he was sired by one and inspired by the other, Charles Xavier Lehnscherr. 

Her boyfriend. 

Monet St. Croix watches the sky fade from blue to orange as she balances herself perfectly on the curved branch of a weeping willow. Within the span of one week, she has helped him gain control his expansive repertoire of mutant powers, as well as develop new powers. He has helped her cope with the anguish of her life and the limitations of her own mutant powers -- limitaions which have been decreasing every day since they have been together. They have become soulmates in the strongest sense of the word. 

But now the man that would be his father is here. Now, all she can do is wait. 

"Mind if I hang out with ya?" 

Roxanne Spaulding, the hip, free-spirited Freefall of Gen-13, and Monet St. Croix, the descendent of the Algerian elite would appear at first glance to be polar opposites. The lone common ground they share is their capability for flight. Somehow, it is enough. 

"Your offer of company is appreciated." 

"That's a yes, right?" 

Roxanne rises up to the branch where Monet stands and floats in mid-air next to her. 

"How ya holdin' up?" 

"It has been a difficult time for me. Charles' memories of his father are the closest thing to his heart. He has shown me moments in time with his family that truly touched me. Deep down, I knew this day would come, but I never would have guessed it would come so soon." 

"Charles meeting Magneto?" 

Monet looks back at Roxanne, who tries her best to show compassion. 

"Yes." 

"Kat gave me the 411 on all that. I still can't believe that he was only five years old last week. He's a total Baldwin, ya know." 

"I don't understand the reference." 

"You know, Baldwin brothers? Actors? Total babes?....Never mind. Doesn't that get to you, though? I mean, he was a toddler last week, and now he's your age. Do you ever think about that when you're...you know..." 

Monet shoots a dirty look at Roxanne. 

"My relationship with Charles goes far beyond mere sexuality, Roxanne, and I resent the insinuation." 

"Jeez, bite my head off for asking. Sorry." 

Monet turns back to the sunset as Roxanne slowly backs away from her. 

"No, I'm sorry. I tend to be very protective of Charles, which is why I have kept my distance from you." 

"Really?" 

"I could sense your attraction to him, and I was afraid you would try to lure him away from me, and I couldn't let that happen. He brought out a side of me that I never knew existed. Now, I face the possibility of losing him. And I'm scared." 

As Monet lowers her head, Freefall floats toward Monet and puts her arm on her shoulders. 

"Cool out, M. Everything will be a'ight." 

"How can you say that?" 

"'Cause you've been to the promised land. You found the one, and he loved you back. Even if it ain't happily ever after, being there is what matters the most. That's a memory you don't forget. Ever." 

Monet gingerly brushes a tear off her cheek with her index finger. 

"Have you been there?" 

Roxanne sighs. 

"No, and it's just another reason for me to totally hate you." 

Monet and Roxanne share a laugh. 

--- 

There is a first time for everything. Rayquan Morris has had a lot of first times since he enrolled in the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters. Of course, this is not his first medical examination -- just his first from a doctor with blue fur. 

"Tell me straight, Doc -- will I ever play hoops again?", says Rayquan as Dr. Henry McCoy lightly taps his knee lightly with a small rubber hammer. 

"A simple test for reflexes does not autmatically make you Bernard King, Mr. Morris," quips the doctor. 

"Van Damme. You datin' yourself, Doc." 

"Of that I am certain. In my line of work, I do not often have the chance to enjoy spectator sports." He rummages through a cupboard of medical supplies, emerging with a syringe. "In fact, I must confess that my knowledge of the former Knickerbocker star comes predominately from his medical history." 

"Now why you gotta go and pull that out?", says Rayquan, his eyes uncomfortably fixed on the needle. 

"Do I detect some trepidation on your part, Mr. Morris?", asks the smiling doctor. 

"No, but I'll trepidate on outta here if you plan on comin' near me with that," replies Rayquan. "Why you wanna stick me, anyway?" 

The doctor laughs. "I assure you, my young friend, that this will be quite painless. I am simply gathering a blood sample so that we may get a better understanding of your mutant physiology. I, for one, have encountered very few subjects that require some sort of fuel to activate their mutant abilities, and I wish to study this further." 

Rayquan closes his eyes and turns his head as Dr. McCoy rubs an alcohol-soaked cotton ball on Rayquan's arm. "Just make it quick, Doc." 

"Is he giving you any trouble?" The White Queen flashes a quick telepathic thought to Dr. McCoy. 

"Not at all, Miss Frost," he thinks in reply. "As they say in the vernacular, he is being quite a trooper." 

"C'mon, Doc, let's get this over with," says an impatient Rayquan. 

"We already have," the doctor replies, applying pressure to the boy's arm. Rayquan opens his eyes and looking over at his arm. 

"Hmmph. You ain't bad at that," he says. "Can I come to you for my shots?" 

"Whenever you need to, my friend. Now if you will excuse me, I would like a moment with your DNA." 

--- 

He was wrong. 

The sunset is not really there to Everett Thomas. All he can do is play back the day's events in his head, looking for the reasons that he reacted the way he did. That list of reasons, much like his stare, is blank. 

"I guess I had you pegged all wrong." 

Caitlin Fairchild leans against the tree, her arms folded, her long legs easily supporting the rest of her frame. 

"I figured you'd be using this gorgeous sunset to try and make a pass at me." 

"I guess I'm just not in the mood for pass-making right now." 

"Wanna talk about it?" 

She walks up to Everett and sits down beside him. The disappointment on his face is all too visible. 

"Someone almost died on my watch today." 

"What?" 

"We got ambushed by sentinels. We fought off as many as we could, but they just kept coming and coming, and Mondo and I decided it wasn't worth the fight if they just kept coming like that. We tried to get Jubilee out of there as well, but she just kept sparkin' those 'bots. I was going to reach out and grab her, but then this one sentinel snuck up on her, and before I could move, it started firing." 

"How did she make it through?" 

"Magneto." Everett shakes his head and sighs. "I came this close to losing her. What's worse is that I may have lost her anyway, because of all this." 

Caitlin puts her arm around his shoulders. "Come on, Everett, you were ambushed by a pack of killing machines. That's a rough spot for anyone, let alone someone like us. We've still got a lot to learn here. Jubilee'll forgive you. You just gotta let her." 

"But what if this happens again? What if we get ambushed, and I end up losing someone for whom I was responsible?" 

"That's why we're in school, Everett. Lighten up on yourself. The important thing is that everyone is okay. Now promise me you're going to stop kicking yourself. Right now." 

Everett grins and nods. "Deal." He looks back at the bright orange sky in front of him, a few clouds reflecting the light of the setting sun. "This *is* a beautiful sunset, isn't it?" 

Fairchild grins. "You call *that* an opening line?" 

"Work with me, here, okay?" 

--- 

"So what made you choose Fairchild, John?" 

"She's the total package -- Ivy League smarts, eagerness to learn, charismatic personality, and the strength to arm wrestle a 90-ton press and win going away. Plus, there's the fact that she *has* character, while every other Gen-13 member *is* a character." 

"Heh heh. I could say the same things about my team, especially about Siryn -- except for the 90-ton press part, of course." 

"Of course. The similarities between our teams are really uncanny: we both have strong-willed redheads at the helm, each team has a Native American member, not to mention one human fireball each." 

"I know. Meltdown and Burnout would make for an interesting combination." 

"Then there's our military backgrounds, and the scrap metal we carry around every day. You know, Nathan, we should get our teams together sometime, let 'em scrap for a while. Maybe we could learn something from you guys." 

"I'd love to. I have some business to attend to before then, but I'll give you a call when things cool off." 

"Sounds good. It's curious to me, though, that with all your military experience, our paths never really crossed before now." 

"That, my friend, is one long and convoluted story." 

"Don't worry, Nathan. I've heard enough of those in my line of work that it doesn't phase me." 

--- 

How do they do it? Bobby Lane stands quietly behind a tree and looks enviously upon Jonothan Starsmore and Paige Guthrie as they sit together on a grassy knoll, holding hands, sharing each other's company. He wants to go up and ask them a million questions, hoping to glean the slightest bit of insight on how they made it work. 

"They're a cute couple, aren't they?" 

Sarah Rainmaker's voice stings his ears. "What do YOU want?", he says coldly. 

"Actually, I came out here to apologize to Chamber for the way I behaved last night," Sarah replies, "but since you're here, I should really apologize to you." 

"I'm not sure I'm ready to hear it," asks Bobby. 

"Look, Bobby," Sarah says, "I feel horrible about what happened in Rome. Really. It's just that I'm...questioning things about myself right now, and I don't always know how to handle that gracefully. I really didn't mean to hurt you." 

Bobby stews for a moment on the events that took place in Italy. He'd like nothing more than to throw it back in her face, make her feel just like he felt when she walked out of that room saying she didn't want to be with him, hurt her as much as possible just like she hurt him. He like nothing more, but he doesn't have the heart to see the end result. 

"Just don't use the F-word with me, okay?", he says to her, "because I've heard that a few too many times in my life, and I care about you too much to have to put up with that line all over again." 

"I care about you, too, Bobby," says Sarah. "That's why I'm so upset about this. You're too nice a guy to let anyone hurt you, let alone anyone like me. If there's anything at all I can do to make it up to you, just tell me." 

A million thoughts race through Bobby's mind, but as he looks back at Paige and Jono, he knows none of them will accomplish what he really wants. 

"Let's just do this," he says. "When you're done questioning things, or if you need any answers, come and see me. Okay?" 

Sarah smiles. "Thank you," she says, slowing and warmly hugging him. Bobby sighs and returns the hug, praying that just for a moment he could gain Perkolater's ability to slow down time. 

--- 

She sits on the back porch, the brilliantly-hued sky serving only as a background. Her eyes remain fixed on Jubilee, who sits awkwardly on the steps, her chin resting on her knee, her right hand creating small pyrotechnic pafs in front of her. 

"You wouldn't bail out on me, would ya, Penny?", says Jubilee. "You'd stay by my side and fight, wouldn't ya?" 

She is silent. Jubilee sighs. 

"Ye get over it, Jubilee." Banshee walks down to the step where Jubilee sits. "Life goes on." 

"But what if it didn't?", she returns. "What if that would have really been it for me?" 

"Ye donnae think about that in our line of work," Banshee replies, as he sits beside her, "because it was nae it, and ye both'll learn something from it. Ye, too, were a X-Man once. Ye should know that." 

"Yeah," Jubilee mutters as she adjusts her position on the steps, just turning her head enough to see Banshee looking up at the painted sky, consumed in his own thoughts. 

"Somethin' on your mind, teach?", she says. 

"Do ye ever think about 'er?", Banshee says, his eyes still locked on the sky. 

"Who?" 

"Clarice." 

Jubilee cocks her head to the side, sensing Banshee's remorse over losing her. "Sometimes," she replies. "Paige talks about her every once in a while, says Clarice is one of the reasons we're all here." 

"Aye, but she is," Banshee continues. "None of us have ever really talked about 'er, though. Most all of us have lost loved ones at some point, but we never knew much about Clarice, yet she saved us all." 

Banshee lowers his head. "Don't take it so hard, Bansh," says Jubilee. "It's not like you didn't try or anything." 

"Ye donnae understand, Jubilee," says Banshee. "I feel like I let 'er down, like I didn't do enough. That's happened too much in my life...John Proudstar...Magrite Deveraux..." 

"It feels like crap to be helpless, doesn't it?", interrupts Jubilee, still snapping off pafs from her fingers. "I've been there myself. I remember watching Illyana die, wishing there was something I could do...something ANYONE could do. I mean, we go out there and save the world day in and day out, but for one person...life just sucks sometimes." 

A clicking sound on the concrete turns Jubilee's head around. "Penny?" She gets up to walk back into the house. "You gonna be okay, Bansh?" 

"Go find yuir friend, Jubilee," he replies. "I'll be okay." 

As Jubilee leaves, Banshee focuses on the small cirrus clouds above him, reflecting the light from the setting sun. 

"Wherever ye are, me friends," he whispers to himself, "I pray ye can forgive me." 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

CHAPTER THE TWELFTH -- THE LONG GOODBYE 

Most men are not afforded the luxury of stepping away from their lives and looking at it from a perspective of another, with a completely different set of beliefs, fears, hopes, prejudices. That is part of the gift Charles Xavier is giving old friend, Erik Magnus Lehnscherr, who witnesses the events of his life as if he were watching a movie -- a movie filled with pain, struggle, and very little true happiness. 

"Is this really the man I once was?", says Magnus, standing with his friend on the astral plane. 

"These are the memories in your own mind, Magnus," Xavier replies. "This is who you were before you landed in Central America." 

"How is it that these memories are in my mind, yet I cannot recall any of them?" 

"They are buried so deep in your subconscious," Xavier replies, "that you would never be able to remember them on your own." He holds out his hand to Magnus. "Are you ready?" 

After a long pause, Magnus nods. 

"You realize that once these memories are returned to you, you will never be the same again." 

"If the past few months are any indication, sir," Magnus replies, "I could never truly be the man I once was. All I ask is that you return to me my life as it was before." 

With a nod, Xavier breaks through the barriers he placed in Magnus' mind, allowing him to see the tapestry of his life, and the moment that changed it forever. Magnus watches as he blacks out the entire globe in a show of magnetic force, then sees the X-Men, along with his son Quicksilver, try to convince him that he is wrong, using more force than reason. Then he watches the fight, the adamantium separating from Wolverine's body, the magnetic energy scattering the X-Men about the room, until finally, he feels the psionic blade enter his mind, and it all goes blank. 

"Why, Charles?", he asks dispairingly. "Why?" 

"I feared the worst, Magnus," Xavier replies. "You stood on the verge of destroying the world." 

"A world that tried to destroy me, Charles," he replies. "Did not these people try to destroy my home? Did they not try to stop me simply for who I was? For what I was?" 

"And I begged them not to, Magnus," returns Charles. "If the X- Men failed to stop you, world leaders would have started a nuclear war in order to destroy you. Billions of lives would have been lost. I knew you better than any of those leaders did, and had it ended in war, it would have broken my heart. There was no other way except to kill you, and I couldn't let that happen, either." 

Magnus pauses, sifting through the encounters with Xavier in his memories. "Yes," he says finally. "I can see that...now." 

"In spite of everything, Magnus, you really haven't changed," says Xavier. "I admire that about you." 

"It would appear that you have not changed, either, Charles," he replies. "You seem ashamed to have done this." 

"I am, Magnus," he replies. "What I did to you went against every fiber of my being. All I ask for is your forgiveness." 

Magnus does not answer. He continues to look through his mind for memories of another. "The boy," he says. "He is not here." 

"No, he is not," replies Xavier, "nor are our memories of the event which brought him about. There is so much about young Charles that I am only beginning to understand." 

"He claims to be my son," says Magnus. "The young woman with him said he was not, but rather was the son of a different Magneto -- a man like me, but from a different world." 

"I have seen glimpses of the world from which young Charles has come," says Xavier, "and it terrifies me. Sean has written in his files that this child has the memories of both his father and his mother etched into his mind. Perhaps if we brought him here with us, we could see for ourselves." 

Xavier's astral form disappears for a moment as he calls out to the young man called Manchild, who sits in the professor's office, staring intently upon the still forms of Xavier and Magnus. 

"Charles." 

"Mis...Mister Xavier?" 

"Open your mind to me, Charles. I want...we want you to join us here." 

Manchild relaxes, and within moments finds his astral form standing between his would-be father and his namesake. Manchild looks upon the stoic form of the man who, in another world, was his father, but in this world, followed his own path, a much darker and largely unsuccessful path to freedom for mutants. 

"Charles," says Xavier, "I want you to understand first that we both know this is not easy for you, having just been separated from both your family and your world just weeks ago." 

"Yes, sir," Manchild replies respectfully. 

"I also want you to understand that while the man you see standing before you is indeed Erik Magnus Lehnscherr, Magneto, he is not the same Magneto that was your father, but a parallel of the Magneto you know, one who has been through a different timeline and many different events than your father." 

"Y-yes, sir. 

"Finally, I want you -- both of you -- to know that no matter what happens, you are both my friends, and I shall always be here for you should you need me." 

"Yes, sir. Thank you." 

"I have never doubted your friendship, Charles," says Magnus sternly, "only your philosophy." 

"As I doubt yours, my friend," Xavier replies, "but that discussion is for another day. Charles, from what I understand, you have both your father's and mother's memories inside your mind." 

"Yes, sir," Manchild replies, "I have an exact duplicate of their memories up until the day I was conceived, and some of my own memories of them after I was born." 

"Would you allow us to see the memories you have of your father?", asks Xavier. 

"Yes, sir," Manchild says to Xavier, his eyes still focused on Magnus. "I will." 

Magnus and Xavier look in amazement as Xavier sets Manchild's memories of his father next to Magnus' actual memories. "These are identical," says Magnus, "the escape from the Nazi camps...my daughter...the hospital in Israel. How could you have obtained these?" 

"They were ingrained in me from the moment I was created," Manchild replies. "They only manifested themselves when my mutant powers did the same. There are times when I think about...my father...and moments of him appear in my mind." 

Before anyone else can reply, Magnus and Xavier reach the point of divergence in Manchild's memory. Suddenly, where Gabrielle Haller was in no danger, a young man floats above them, threatening to take the life of Magneto in the name of his father. 

"No," whispers Xavier. "David..." 

"That boy, Charles," says Magnus, watching as his younger self fights Legion in Manchild's memories. "He says he is doing this for you." 

Xavier holds his head in his hand. "What you are seeing is Legion, a/k/a David Haller...my son." 

"Your SON!?", says an astonished Manchild. 

"He has had numerous medical and psychological problems in his life, and he was comatose for many years after my encounter with the Shadow King on Muir Island. Suddenly, just a month or so ago, his powers manifested themselves in Israel, where he was hospitalized. He and several X-Men disappeared that day, and that night, I was warned that because of David, our entire universe would be destroyed." 

He looks through the scene as it plays out in Manchild's mind. "Goodbye, Erik Magnus Lehnscherr," says Legion as he holds a psionic blade in one hand and a young Magnus in the other. "I hope that in death, you'll find the peace you've been missing in life." 

They watch in horror as a young Charles Xavier suddenly throws himself in front of Magnus, effectively taking the brunt of Legion's attack. Xavier screams in pain as he watches the scene, ending with both Legion and the X-Men disappearing, and Magnus left holding Xavier's body on the streets of Haifa. 

"Charles?", he whispers, "You died to save me!? Oh, God, Charles..." 

Xavier and Magnus stand stunned at the scene, paying little attention to the scenes that eventually lead to the nuclear war that destroys the world. "There was never time for David," Xavier says, bowing his head in shame. "Of all the things that I tried to do in this world, I never tried hard enough to raise...my son. My poor son..." 

Magnus turns his attention to a distraught Xavier. "Your children of the atom would disagree with you, Charles," says Magnus. "Have you not treated all of your X-Men like your sons and daughters all these years? Do all the people you have helped and who have helped you over these two decades not count as family? Are there not tragedies in even the largest family?" He turns Xavier toward Manchild. "Look upon what your dream has created, Charles -- from the ashes of your son rises this beautiful child, inspired by your vision of a world where homo sapiens and homo superior can live in peace." 

Xavier looks up to see Manchild standing before him, looking back on a moment when, somewhere in this strange parallel world in Manchild's mind, a woman known only as Rogue gave birth to her first son, and Magneto named it for the man that saved his life. 

"There is a price to every dream," says Xavier. "David was the only real son I ever had. How many times must I lose him in order to see my dream become reality? How many more will children will I lose in the process?" 

"You've seen what the world is like without you, Mr. Xavier," says Manchild. "What is one life lost compared to five billion lives lost?" 

"It is my child, young Charles. Surely you know what that is like...to lose loved ones." 

"And yet it has never stopped you," says Magnus. 

Xavier turns back to his friend. "Such bittersweet irony, Magnus, that you would try to rejuvenate my faith in this tired dream of mine." 

"It is like you told me many years ago, Charles," Magnus replies. "Any dream worth having is a dream worth fighting for." 

"Then come fight with me, Magnus. With our combined energies, we could truly make the possibility of mutant-human cooperation a reality. There are already places in our midst where it is happening. We would never have to live in fear again." 

Magnus thinks for a moment about Charles' offer. He has been an X-Man before, and after his time in Central America, as well as his encounter with the boy who would be his son, it would seem to be the best place to start his life anew. Yet his memories of days past do not cease putting him at odds with his longtime friend. 

"You know, as do I, Charles," Magnus says, "that I could not stay here. Your dream is still a noble one, but after lifetime upon lifetime of hardship, I remain unconvinced that your dream is anything more than that in this world. I must...find my own dream. I thank you, however, for returning to me my life." 

"Our lives are intertwined constantly, Magnus," Xavier replies. "It would sadden me to see you any more as you were." 

"Before we go, Charles," Magnus says, "will you allow me one last request? Will you allow me to take some of the memories of this child's father with me as well? I would like to meet the man...I could have been." 

"You are aware of the dangers of split memory," says Charles. 

"I don't wish to have two memories, Charles," he replies, "just a momento to carry with me...of our friendship." 

Xavier smiles. "Thank you, Magnus." He grants his wish, and within moments, all three emerge from the astral plane and find themselves sitting in Xavier's office. Magneto rises majesticly from the couch and stands before the professor. 

"Are you sure you will not reconsider my offer?", asks Xavier. 

"For the moment, yes," Magneto replies, turning to Manchild. "However, there is one X-Man whom I wish to find. I can still see her in your eyes, young Charles." 

Manchild cannot contain the twinkle in his eyes, and Magneto replies by smiling and holding out his hand to the young mutant. "Would you like to join me in the search for...your mother?" 

A confused Manchild turns to Xavier for advice. "I cannot stop you if you wish to go, Charles," Xavier says. "I know how much your family means to you." 

Manchild thinks about the family he knew before he fell in front of the Apollo Theater several weeks ago. He also thinks about all the people he has met since he came here -- Uncle Aq, Aunt Monica, Rayquan, Willie, Ray, Lester, Sean, Jono, Jubilee, Roxanne, Caitlin, Penance -- but more than anything, he thinks about Monet. How many times she has saved him, how much they have shared, how they have helped each other develop as both mutants and people in such a short time -- he knows that no other person on this world matters as much to him as she does. How could he ever leave her? 

--- 

Night sets in. 

"Don't go, Charles. Please." 

She holds him desperately as the harvest moonlight shines through the picture window. It was a day she knew would come, but wished would never come so quickly. He is leaving with his father. 

"I know this hurts you, Monet," says Charles, "but it will only be for a short time. I will return to you. You have my word." He kisses her lightly on the forehead. "You have my heart." 

"But I want you HERE," she replies. "I NEED you here. I don't want this to end." 

"This isn't an ending, love," he says, "but a beginning. I am aware that the man asking me to come with him is not really my father, but he is still a man I love like a father. It's a chance for me to rediscover...to be with...my family. You know what they meant to me, Monet. I can't say no." 

"I know, Charles," she replies, "and I know I'm just being petty and selfish for wanting you to stay..." 

"No, Monet," he interrupts, "you're being honest. I may still be lacking in life experience, but I know honesty is an important thing, and your honesty with me is one of the reasons I love you so much." 

They are silent for several minutes, holding each other as closely as possible, taking in as much of the moment as they can. Perhaps there will be other moments like this in the future, but their time is now. 

"I want you to have something, Monet," he says, pulling back and gently placing a hand on her cheek. Monet feels a pulse of power growing in her mind. "The professor told me that Cyclops and Phoenix share a psionic rapport with each other, so that even when they are thousands of miles apart, they are always together. I want to share that kind of bond with you, Monet. I will understand if you say no." 

"I say yes," she replies, and slowly but surely, their rapport is established. "If you ever want to talk," Charles says, "I'll be there for you." 

"Thank you," she replies, "but please, would you be *here* with me tonight?" 

"I am, love." 

Together they look out the window at the star-filled sky, remembering their first kiss over the tattered streets of Harlem. 

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might have the wish I wish tonight." 

"What did you wish for, Monet?" 

"Only for tonight to last forever." 

They gaze into each other's eyes and slowly lean into a kiss... 

--- 

Morning breaks. The crowd gathers on the steps of the mansion -- X-Men past, present and future, mutants and gen-actives, friends, lovers and rivals -- to bid farewell to a man who once was their greatest threat, and the child who, in a sense, represents their greatest hope. 

"I want you to know, Charles," says Xavier, "that no matter what happens, you will always have a home with us here." 

"Thank you, Professor," Manchild replies. 

"It still strikes me as odd to this day to hear someone call you 'Professor', Charles," says Magneto, who stands in plain clothes behind his would-be son. 

"How much our lives have changed, Magnus," says Xavier. "Take care of young Charles." 

"How could I not?", Magneto replies. "He is my son." 

Charles Xavier Lehnscherr slowly walks over to his Generation X teammates. 

"My friends," he says, "I shall miss all of you while I am away. Mr. Cassidy, Miss Frost, Everett, Jono, Paige, Angelo, Mondo..." He grins at Jubilee. "Aunt Deep Dip." 

"You big baby," she replies grinning. 

"Rayquan..." 

"My mutie," Rayquan replies, slapping fists with Charles. "Keep it real, a'ight?" 

"You bet." He turns to the girl bent down on all fours, her knife-like fingers jutting over the steps. "You're a survivor, Penance. Don't ever lose that." 

"I...I'll m-miss you." 

"And I you." 

"Charles," says Caitlin Fairchild, who walks up to him with her Gen-13 teammates, "I know we haven't known each other for long, but I enjoyed our brief time together, and I wish you happiness wherever life takes you." 

"Thank you, Caitlin." 

"You're a total jerk for leaving, ya know," says Roxanne. 

"I know." 

He turns back to Monet, who stands quietly at the foot of the steps. They walk slowly toward each other until they stand face to face. 

"Will you read me a story tonight?", says Charles. 

"I would love to," she replies. They kiss each other softly as his father looks on, thinking himself of lost loves, lost opportunities. Charles backs away from Monet and slowly joins his father. 

"I look forward to seeing you all again soon," addresses Charles, trying to soften the lump in his throat. "May you be safe from harm until then." 

"Charles, Magnus," says Jean Grey-Summers, standing hand-in-hand with her husband, "as they say in the Askani -- G'journey." 

"And to you, Phoenix," Magneto replies. 

"Goodbye, my friends," says Xavier. 

With that, father and son rise into the sky in a sphere of magnetic energy. The crowd watches as they grow smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing into the clouds. 

"Are you gonna be okay, M?", asks Roxanne. 

"I'll be fine," Monet says quietly, unabashedly letting a tear drip down her cheek. "He's still here." She looks up at the woman called Phoenix, who instantly knows what she means and shares a secret smile with her. 

--- 

"You've got a good team here, Sean," says John Lynch, as he stands in the airport terminal shaking hands with the headmaster of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters and his students. "If you ever need any assistance, give us a call." 

"Aye, John, and a hearty thank ye to yuir students as well," replies Sean Cassidy, who sends off Lynch and his charges. All the students exchange hugs and handshakes as they go their separate ways. 

"Sarah," says Paige. 

"Yes, Paige?" 

"I wanted you to have this book before you left. I think it will give you a little insight on what it's like to be a mutant." 

Paige hands Sarah a hard cover book -- "Outlaws: Three Weeks with the X-Men," by Richard Rory. 

"Thank you, Paige." They share one last hug before Lynch leads his students toward the airplane. Just before leaving, however, Fairchild turns around one last time. 

"Oh, and Everett?", she says. 

"What?", he replies. 

"E-mail me." She winks and turns down the runway. 

Everett closes his eyes and inhales deeply, trying to calm himself down. He turns to his left to get a glimpse of Jubilee, who gives him the evil eye. He realizes just now that he hasn't talked to her since their hasty retreat from the sentinels at that seaside warehouse, and he stands bracing himself for the verbal attack he expects and likely deserves. 

"You sly dog," says Jubilee, forming a grin as he pokes Everett in the gut with her elbow. Everett breathes a sigh of relief. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------ 

EPILOGUE 

The brownstone is clean and generally well-kept, though its graying brown walls show its age. He walks up the wooden staircase to a second floor apartment, noting the welcome mat on the floor in front of the door. He knocks on the large brown door lightly. 

"Who is it?", says the female voice on the other side. 

"Aunt Monica?" 

Locks rattle, and the door is opened by an attractive black woman in jeans and a sweatshirt, her braided hair cascading over her shoulders. 

"Hey, Little Man," says an excited Monica Chavis as she reaches up to hug her young find from the Apollo Theater. "How you doin'?" 

"I'm doing wonderfully," he replies. "How about yourself?" 

"Oh, I'm gettin' along," she says, brushing her braids behind her shoulders. "It's so good to see you again." 

"Where's Uncle Aq?" 

"Oh, you missed 'im. He's up north visiting Sleeps and Terry today. They could be out as early as April, so you'll have to be here for the party." 

"Has the neighborhood opened up to you guys?" 

"Child," she continues, her tone of voice dropping an octave, "if it ain't one thing, it's another. We got the neighborhood watch goin', we got some small businesses opening up, we gettin' some of these stick-up kids off the streets, and I'll be damned if half of 'em ain't joined the Nation of Islam after our dinner with them brothers. We still got a bunch of people lookin' at us funny, we bein' mutants and all that, but those folks who know...they down for the reclamation." 

"That's great," Charles replies. "I hope it works out for you." 

"Thanks. What brings you out here today?" 

"I wanted you to meet someone," he says, motioning to his right with his arm. A large, majestic, white-haired man dressed in faded blue jeans, a black leather jacket and a red T-shirt steps toward Charles, who puts his arm around the man. 

"Aunt Monica," says Charles, his proud smile beaming, "this is my father." 

She recognizes the man from all the newspapers, television ads and discussions around the block. She never expected to finally meet him face to face. Very quickly, however, the look of awe on her face changes into a look of concern. 

"How long you and Little Man been together?", she says. 

"Only a couple of days, madam. We're...catching up on things." 

"You takin' good care of him?" 

"The best I possibly can." 

"Good, because I don't wanna hear from anyone about you messin' up with him, dig? I remember Little Man when he was about this high, before that Sinister punk went and took his childhood away. This boy hasn't had a whole lotta breaks in his life, and the last thing I need to hear about is that you got him off on some terrorist mission, 'cause if I DO hear that, I don't care how much power you got. I'm huntin' you down and whuppin' that ass. Do I make myself clear?" 

"Crystal, madam. I assure you, no harm shall befall him on my watch." 

"You better be sure. This is my Little Man, here. I ain't tryin' to hear about him gettin' hurt." She reaches out and pats Charles' shoulder. "Where you two off to now?" 

"We're going down south for the winter. We think that...my mother might be there." 

Monica smiles. "Y'all gonna be a family again, aren't ya?" 

"I don't know yet," says an obviously excited Charles, "but we're going to try our best." 

"Well you be careful down there," She hugs Charles and turns her eyes to Magneto, waving a finger at him. 

"And YOU stay out of trouble, a'ight?" 

"Yes, madam." 

Monica lets go of Charles and steps back toward the door. "It was real good to see you again, Little Man," she says. "Don't be a stranger around here, okay?" 

"I'll be back soon, Aunt Monica," he replies. "Tell Uncle Aq I said hello." 

"I will. Good luck out there." 

They wave goodbye to each other as son leads father down the steps and out of the apartment. Monica smiles as she watches them leave. He found his daddy, she thinks. I'll be damned. She closes the door behind her and bolts down the lock. 


End file.
